National Enquirer
by YourRoyalC-RokHighness
Summary: Tony and Ziva are requested by the President to be bodyguards while he presents a speech. However, after Ziva saves him from an assassination attempt, they end up becoming the nation's hottest couple. Your Royal Highness and C-Rokkk co-authorship. TIVA!
1. Chapter 1: Marshmallows

**So this is C-Rokkk and Your Royal Highness! :) And while speaking last night...two nights ago...idk, we decided that it would be amazingly fun to co-author a fic! Thus, we created said account to write said story! So please enjoy! And review! WE **_**LOVE**_** REVIEWS! hint, hint, wink, wink, nudge, nudge. :) (oh, and it's TIVA ALL THE WAY BABY!) :) we're tiva freaks. so don't worry. REVIEW! :) (We'll shut up now)**

It was quiet.

The only sounds were the tapping of fingers on a keyboard, printers printing numerous amounts of paper, and the murmuring of voices as they walked by, their beady eyes staring at him. Special Agent Tony DiNozzo rolled his eyes as he sat on the other side of the wall behind his desk, a gun in his hand. Straightening his tie, he loaded it and then sat up a little bit to look over the wall into the squadroom.

And there he was.

His target.

Special Agent Timothy McGee.

He sat back down and wiped the sweat off of his brow.

Was he really going to do this?

Of course he was.

He _had _to.

Making sure that his weapon was cocked and ready, he got onto his knees and turned around, getting ready for the kill. He sat up a little, his target in plain sight. He was unaware. Perfect. He lifted the gun up, closed one eye, aimed, and was ready to pull a trigger when he was suddenly caught off guard by a voice whispering into his ear, "What are you doing, Tony?" He moved away from her voice as he wiped his ear a couple of times, sighing before sitting back down onto the floor.

"What do you want?" he questioned.

She sat down next to him, "Just wondering what you are doing...with..." She pointed to the object in his hands, "That." She wrinkled her nose and brow in confusion.

Tony lifted the gun up, "This, my dear ninja, is a _marshmallow blaster." _He grinned, "Stole it from my neighbor. He kept pelting," He pulled a mini marshmallow out of his pocket, "These little suckers through my letter slot at night." He said, "So I confiscated it."

She rolled her eyes, "Do you not have better things to do than to torment little kids by stealing their toys?" She sighed, leaning her head back against the wall.

He thought for a moment before breaking back out into a large grin, "Nope."

He then turned back around and propped himself up on his knees. Ziva did the same and watched as he aimed horribly, "You are doing it wrong." She whispered into his ear, her voice sweet but sending shivers down his spine. How come she had this affect on him?

He groaned, "Doing what wrong? I'm doing it all right, thank you very much."

"You are holding your gun wrong." She argued.

"I am not!" He nearly whined, "Now shush!"

She sighed and rolled her eyes as he set the gun back up, aiming. She couldn't take it anymore, and with a whisper, she spoke again, "You are doing it wrong, Tony."

"Fine." He groaned, shoving the gun at her, "You're so good, then you do it." She smiled and gladly took the gun from him.

"Thank you." She promptly said, a little attitude in her voice at the same time, a little sass. She took Tony's position, moving in front of him. He moved back and then took this opportunity to let his gaze on her back lower _just _a little, "Stop looking at my ass." She commanded, and his eyes shot back up to the back of her head.

"What are you talking about?" He gave a shaky laugh and she just rolled her eyes.

She finally sighed and then sat back down flat on the ground, "We are not high enough." She said, "The plasma is in the way."

Tony sighed, defeated. His amazing 'Shoot McGee' plan hadn't gone through as planned. Again. Suddenly, he snapped his head up, "Hey!" He grinned, "I got an idea!" He patted his shoulders, "Climb on!"

Ziva furrowed her eyebrows together and stared at him. "No!" She put the gun on the ground and began to stand up when he stopped her. "Tony we will just have to wait until we are on higher ground."

"Ziva! This is a perfect opportunity! Come _on!_" He protested. "Look around. Gibbs isn't here. And McGoo..." He had to stop and laugh, "is totally unaware." Sighing, she knew she wasn't going to win the argument. She checked again for Gibbs, and climbed onto the senior field agent's shoulders. "You know, Ziva, this reminds me of page 57." He chuckled, "Do you remember page 57?"

"You know that I am holding a weapon, don't you, Tony?" He scoffed.

"That can't hurt me, it's a marshmallow shooter!" Ziva looked down at him without moving the weapon.

"You will be amazed that something that is so sweet could hurt you so much."

He looked down to the floor and muttered to himself. _"Like you?"_ In effort to steady her, he put his hands on her thighs.

"Target is acquired." She whispered.

"Ready...Aim...Fire!" Ziva pulled the trigger several times and the quickly ducked down just as they hit McGee's head. Ziva climbed off of Tony and they both laughed as quietly as they could, until they saw legs standing in front of them. "Boss." Tony said. Gibbs only continued to stare at him. Tony sighed and handed him the gun. Gibbs walked into the squad room, marshmallow gun in hand.

McGee had to close his mouth from where it fell open. "Boss, that was you?!" He said loudly. Gibbs walked around his desk and leaned on it with two hands, simply staring him.

"Shutting up, boss." He said and returned to his computer. Ziva slipped into her desk, unnoticed. Tony walked in and sat down, still trying to hold back his laughter.

"Nice of you to join us, Special Agent DiNozzo." Tony glared at the Israeli who sat across from him. She smiled in defeat. She never got in trouble. "You too, Officer David." Now it was Tony's turn to smile. He looked over at McGee, who continued to type.

"You get hungry before lunch there, McMarshmallow?" He asked. McGee only glared at him.

"Tony, when are you going to grow up?"

"What are you talking about?" Tony said innocently.

"You pelted me with marshmallows!" McGee retaliated.

"Actually, McQuestions, that was Ziva." He smiled, turning towards his partner and flashing her a huge grin. She just gaped.

"Tony tied me into it!" She pointed to him.

"Roped, Ziva." Tony sighed, "The term is roped." She just glared at him.

"Oh really?" Gibbs suddenly spoke up, shocking the other members of Gibbs team. He smirked slightly, yet his eyes never left the computer screen, "And climbing onto his shoulders was all his fault too?" Now, it was McGee's turn to grin at the other two agents' discomfort.

Unable to say anything except have the ability to open and close their mouths like hungry fish, they just looked down at their papers sitting on their desks. Tony grinned, "Ziva liked it." He boasted, and her eyes shot up to meet her partners.

She scoffed, "I did not!" she lied, making sure that she didn't look down and to the left. To be honest, she loved the feeling of his warm hands on her hips...and the electric shock that went through both of their bodies was definitely not missed by her, maybe by Tony, but then again, why did he insist on moving his hands up and down her thighs?

He just grinned and leaned back, "Ziva you did." He said, "No one can resist the DiNozzo charm." He winked at her and she scoffed and rolled her eyes. _He felt it too?_

She just waved her hand away, "Whatever, Tony. That was purely childish." She said.

"But it was fun! Better than those boring books you read." He said, and she shook her head, tilting it slightly to the side.

"It was fun." She admitted, silently. She didn't even know if Tony heard her...not that it mattered, "But what is wrong with books?"

"I never said anything was wrong with books. I just prefer movies." He smiled.

She scoffed. Again, "You and your stupid movies." She pointed her pen towards him, furrowing her eyebrows together, "Why does everything have to circle," she moved her pen around in that shape, "back to your movies?"

"Some of them are films." He reiterated.

She just shook her head, "Tony..." and then Gibbs phone started to ring right as he was about to punish his two senior field agents.

"Yeah, Gibbs." He answered the phone in his normal greeting.

_"Agent Gibbs? This is Cynthia. Director Vance needs you up in MTAC ASAP for a conference call."_

"Oh yeah, Cynthia?" He asked, "And what's this 'call' about?"

"_He said it was urgent...." _She paused, waiting for his response, "_With the president....?" _She said, slowly.

"Which president?" He questioned, and Cynthia was confused.

"_Our president. The President of the United States, sir."_


	2. Chapter 2: The President

**Thanks SOOO much for the reviews guys! We really appreciate them! And I know that some of you (or all) are expecting Obama in the story. And, after much talking, we decided that it would be best to NOT include him. We have our reasons, don't worry! Reason 1: Most Movies/TV shows have a DIFFERENT president than the one actually in office. Reason 2: We know that some people are still bitter about Obama being president. And, to avoid any debates/angry reviewers, we have decided not to use him. Sorry. We just think that it would arise too much controversy. And...we wanted him to be Gibbs friend. (Not that Obama couldn't be...but we wanted them to have a little past together) :) So yeah. Be our friends now and PLEASE don't be mad at us for not including him...and...REVIEW! :) *Sigh* now that we're off the soap box...ON WITH THE STORY! **

Gibbs walked to MTAC, holding his usual cup of coffee in his right hand.

"Reason why I'm here, Le-On?" He asked, taking a sip. Leon only raised an eyebrow.

"You were requested."

"Sec-Nav?"

"No. The president."

"The white house is standing by, sir."

"Put him through." Leon replied. "Mr. President."

"Director Vance?" Vance nodded and put on a half-smile, "Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, just as you requested."

The President smiled at Gibbs, who was standing behind the director, "Sir." He nodded.

The President turned back to Leon, "The room?" He requested, and Leon nodded, turning around as he let his smile that he had flashed to the President turn to a frown. He shot Gibbs a warning look, as if he was actually going to screw up, and then started out of MTAC. Gibbs walked towards the screen.

"How are you, Mark?" He asked, and the President laughed, smiling a little.

"Just fine, LJ, how are you?"

Gibbs nodded his head, "Doing good. Doing good. You requested something of me?"

"Actually, almost an assignment." He said, placing his hands on top of the desk he was sitting at and leaning forward towards the camera, "My men have come down with a virus; it's spreading through the office, therefore it seems that I have an insufficient amount of men as security for my speech at the capital in two days."

"What would you like me to do, sir?"

"I am requesting you to send two of your best agents over here ASAP."

Gibbs walked out of MTAC and leaned on the rail, and then was joined by Vance.

"Who are you choosing?" Gibbs watched his team. Tony was throwing marshmallows at McGee and Ziva was cleaning her nails with her knife.

Gibbs unfolded his hands and looked at the director. "You were eavsdropping, Leon?" Vance simply stared and Gibbs continued. "Ziva. She's an assassin."

"And the other?" Gibbs turned to him. "He said _two agents, _Gibbs." Gibbs looked between McGee and DiNozzo several times. "Do you pick the agent that is throwing marshmallows at a federal agent or the federal agent who is letting marshmallows be thrown at him?" Gibbs sighed.

"DiNozzo." He finally said. He walked past him and down the stairs. Vance shook his head again and walked back into MTAC to inform the President.

"Oh hey boss." DiNozzo said. He immediately hid the marshmallows and straighetned himself. "How did the MTAC call go?"

"Fine. I want every single one of these marshmallows picked up."

"You heard the man, Probie." Tony replied with a smile on his face. McGee only glared. Gibbs stared at the senior agent. "Right boss." He said. He started to walk out of the squad room.

"Where are you going?"

"Uh, to get the vacuum, boss." Gibbs continued to stare. "To clean up the..."

"By hand, DiNozzo." Tony sighed and got down on his knees, picking up each marshmallow.

Ziva just smirked as she smiled in amusement at Tony, on his knees, crawling across the floor. Somehow she found the scene slightly...arousing. She almost scoffed at herself as she quickly pushed the thought to the back of her mind.

"Something funny, David?" Gibbs voice snapped her out of her thoughts and she turned her head towards the boss.

"Gibbs?" She questioned and he nodded, not looking at her, just looking at his computer screen.

"Well." He said, "You shot the marshmallows as well..." He gestured just slightly towards where DiNozzo was picking them up. The scowl on his face turned to an amused smirk as he watched Ziva slightly growl at him, getting out of her seat as well. Somehow, he found that particular sound slightly arousing...thank god he was kneeling. She bent down next to him and grabbed a marshmallow from in front of him, purposely shoving her chest towards him. He let his eyes linger down her shirt, and she shook her head, didn't look up at him, and continued to pick up the marshmallows.

Suddenly, she moved towards him, getting up into his personal space. Her scent was alluring and addictive. He couldn't even take it. He held his breath, for he thought that he may be able to avoid the sensations running through his body for her.

"Something you like, Tony?" She whispered into his ear, scooting towards him, one knee between his legs and the other on the other side of his right leg. He had to be careful what he said...if that knee just moved slightly forward...there would be trouble. He made the sad mistake of moving his eyes from her chest and stare her straight in the eyes.

"Maybe..." He managed to breathe out before he quickly held his breath again.

"Not a good enough answer." She replied, slapping his cheek lightly.

"Stop playing grab ass and pick up the marshmallows!" Gibbs voice boomed and they moved quickly away from each other. Heat rose to Ziva's cheeks as she moved to pick up the marshmallow the furthest away from Tony. Gibbs suddenly stood up, "You two better not be playing grab ass in front of the President." They both stopped and looked up, confused.

"The President, boss?" Tony spoke first, after sharing a look with Ziva, "As in _our _President? The President of _the United States?!" _

"No, Tony, the President of Twinkies." Ziva rolled her eyes and he just glared at her.

"_The President of Twinkies." _He mocked, and she turned her head, shooting quick daggers at him before turning back to the marshmallow mess.

"Yeah, DiNozzo, as in the White House." He said, "You two are serving as part of his Secret Service for his speech in two days. Get packing, he wants to see you ASAP." They both sent looks to each other as they stood up.

"You know boss, I always wanted to work for the Secret Service!" Tony grinned, and Ziva rolled her eyes as she threw away the rest of the marshmallows, standing up as well.

"I wonder why you did not get in." Ziva smiled, and Tony just let his grin drop, glaring at his partner. Tony stopped Gibbs right as he was walking away.

"Hold on, when were you going to tell us about this?" He demanded, and Ziva turned as well, also wanting to know the bossman's answer.

He shrugged, "Don't know." And with that, he left the bullpen. Tony and Ziva just stared at each other, confused. Suddenly, Gibbs voice just boomed into the bullpen, "GET MOVING!" He shouted, and they sprung into action, that was the only word for it. They grabbed their backpacks and then started out of the bullpen, towards the elevator.

"How does he do that?" Tony muttered, "It's like he's God and we're getting a sign from above."

Ziva shrugged as the elevator doors pinged open, "As Abby says, he has magic powers, yes?" She questioned, and he just shook his head as they walked in, turning around at the same time. Ziva pressed the button for the garage.

"Yeah, yeah, but we get to be Secret Service! High five!" Tony put his hand up, and Ziva just looked at it, turned away, laughed, and then shook her head as the elevator doors closed shut. Tony stared at his hand for a couple of seconds and then cleared his throat, trying to act casual as he straightend his tie. He picked up his gear and followed Ziva out of the elevator, whose doors were just opening back up.

Nothing was said as Tony holstered his gun. Ziva looked at him when he spoke. "You know, Kate was a secret service agent." Ziva laughed.

"I am not going to get shot in the head, Tony." She immediatley knew that she went too far from the look on his face. Nothing else was said until they reached their cars.

"So I'll pick you up at 1300h? Then it's off to the White House!" Tony said loudly and frowned when he saw that Ziva was already backing out from her parking space.

Tony pulled up to the curb in front of Ziva's apartment. He looked at his watch, it read 1302h. He sat there and sucked through his teeth for a couple of minutes, tapped on the steering wheel, and then decided it would be more interesting _outside_ of the car. He got out and leaned on the hood, crossing his arms and legs.

Ziva walked out of her apartment and began to walk towards Tony, who was obviously trying _not_ to look at her. She studied her partner. He was wearing that green shirt that she loved, with jeans. She looked down at her own wardrobe; a light blue dress, heels, and straightened hair that was down. He still didn't look at her as she neared him.

Ziva rolled her eyes. _He just had to choose THAT shirt. With THOSE jeans with the HOLE in the thigh. He still hasn't looked at me. Or maybe he has and then turned away. Do I really look that ridiculous? My God, he looks sexy. Damn him._

"You are late Ziva David!" Tony turned to her, pointing at his watch, but then had to catch himself from falling. _Wow. She's...wearing...a...dress. A blue one. And her hair is down. No Anthony, you can not jump her. She'll kill you. Or worse...Gibbs...._

"It is only 1304, Tony. I am not late."

"We said 1300." He replied. "And it's 1305. Late." Ziva rolled her eyes and jerked open the back door, throwing her suitcase next to Tony's. She sat down in the passenger seat. "I see you've dressed up."

"Yes. We are going to see the president, Tony. Of the United States. Dressing up is usually what people do." He turned his attention back to the road. "You noticed?" He scoffed.

"How could I not?" She had to hide her smile. "You should wear things like that more often. Throw the cargo pants away. Please tell me you didn't pack any." She turned her head quickly and narrowed her eyes.

"Three pairs!" Tony sighed deeply and turned the radio on.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Tony tried oh so hard _not _to look at Ziva. He could barely stand it. She looked the most gorgeous she's ever looked in her entire life. Even the guards that searched them down, wanting to arrest Ziva (who apparently had too many weapons) checked her out. Tony was unnerved by that. He wanted nothing more than to sucker punch the man in the jaw. But then again, he had to realize that he was in the White House and...well...Ziva wasn't interested.

And then the escort checked her out.

And then she flirted back.

And then he felt his fists curl up into tight balls.

"He's right in there." The escort opened up the door, smiling down at Ziva. She smiled back just as Tony cut in front of him.

"I got it." He grinned, looking down at Ziva, "My lady." He gestured, and she gave Tony 'a look' before walking in. The escort tried to follow, but he shoved the door in his face, laughing silently to himself. Ziva was in front of him, and he was a guy. A guy who had strong...fantasies...about his partner.

What else was he going to do?

That's right...he checked her out.

Especially her legs..._all _of the muscles. He never got to see bare skin below her midriff. Ever. This was new, and he loved it. However, sensing the Presidents eyes on him, he snapped his eyes back up to the back of her head.

Ziva flashed her badge, "NCIS. I am Officer Ziva David," She gestured to the man behind her, "This is Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo, my partner. Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs said that you requested us, sir?"

He nodded, sticking out his hand. She shook it, "I am honored to meet you." She boasted as Tony slid in next to her, shaking the Presidents hand as well.

"Yes, I requested from Agent Gibbs to send him two best agents out."

Tony grinned, "He said that?" He questioned, and Ziva rolled her eyes.

"For protection detail?"

Tony laughed, "Protection detail?" He nudged Ziva, "We aren't good at that, sweetcheeks." She just glared at him before turning back to the President.

"Do not listen to Tony. He likes to joke around." She said, "If you could please brief us on the mission, it would be greatly appreciated, sir." She said, being formal.

Tony decided not to listen and he looked around the office. Definitely wasn't the oval office, but it was still amazing. Tony was in awe.

"Yes, seems like my agents are down with a virus that is spreading, therefore I need new, healthy blood. All you will have to do is stay in contact with 'command central' as we call it and make sure that the area is secure for my speech tomorrow." Ziva nodded.

"Yes, sir." She responded.

"You will be given the gadgets needed tomorrow while you two go and run security tests with the other men from the Secret Service." He said, "Now I know Gibbs, and I know that he would never send me anyone he couldn't trust. He trusts you, right?"

"Yes, sir." Ziva responded and the President turned to Tony. He took special note that instead of looking at the walls, he was looking at....well the backside of Officer David.

"Agent DiNozzo?" He questioned, and he looked up quickly, as if caught.

"What, huh? Oh yeah, uh-huh." He nodded, "Got it." He nodded again and again. Ziva rolled her eyes and the President knew that Tony was going to get a long lecture about his poor behavior from his girlfriend.

"Good." He reached into his desk, pulling out two cell phones, "These are your new cell phones. If you ever need to contact me, press speed dial number three." He said, "My associates will book you two a room as soon as possible. You will be staying at the Ritz across the street." He said, "I expect to see you two up early at 0700h." They each grabbed a cell, "Oh wait. I almost forgot." He pulled out two ID's, "You will be getting new ones in the morning. These are simply to let you enter the White House and other secured areas without being stopped and searched. You are free to go. Thank you." He said, "You are greatly appreciated."

"Anything, sir." Ziva nodded, and then turned around, all muscles relaxing as she started out of the room. Tony placed his hand on the small of her back, guiding her out.

The associates on the computers behind the President smirked and turned to each other, "Did you see how he checked her out?" One asked.

"They're both super hot." Another said, "Let's make this interesting."

"Book a hotel room for Agent DiNozzo and Officer David." The President requested before leaving the room.

One turned to their computer screen, pulling up the Ritz website, "Book the double suite." The person next to her pointed to the screen. She shook her head and then pressed 'BOOK' before grinning and leaning back, "Why did you book the suite?" She questioned, "That's one bed."

The one that booked it shook her head, "They want each other. _Bad. _And all they need is a little shove." She said, "When they realize that they can't control their desire for each other at night...well let's just say they're going to be two very happy people."


	3. Chapter 3: Dinner & Body Stuff

**Ok, so yeah. This is our second update today! But we're having fun writing this! And thank youuuu to the reviewers! We love them. :) So here it is and we hope you enjoy! (Reviews make our day. So leave one. It will be much obliged.)**

"You would like that, wouldn't you?" Tony asked as he followed Ziva to the counter. She gave him a look and looked at the person behind the counter, who had a smile plastered on her face.

"Hi, can I help you?" She asked. Ziva flipped open her badge, and then so did Tony. The receptionist lost her smile.

"We should have two rooms booked, under the president's orders." She typed on her computer for several seconds and then stared at them blankly.

"Is there a problem?" Tony asked. She pointed to the screen, as if they could see it.

"There's only one room booked." Tony and Ziva looked at each other. Tony grinned.

"Oh really?"

"No. There has to be some mistake. Look again." Ziva command and the she did. Nope. No mistake. Ziva sighed and rolled her eyes. Tony happily took the key from the woman and followed Ziva into the elevator.

"I hope you don't snore this time." Tony commented.

"Did you put on deodorant?" Ziva asked.

"_Did you put on deodorant?" _Tony mocked. He followed Ziva into the room, which was beautiful. Ziva put her bag on the floor.

"Where is the other bed?" She asked.

"I don't know but check out this TV! Look at the channels!" Tony opened the pamphlet the hotel provided and began to look through them.

"Where is the other bed?!" Tony rolled his eyes.

"Will you just chill, Zi? I'm sure the hotel was booked so they had to...you know. Make do." He continued to study the channels. Ziva walked over to him in a huff and snatched it out of his hands.

"You are not concerned that we have to share a bed? You just want me to...freeze."

"_Chill_ Ziva. you know, as in, 'chill out' or 'chillax'?" She just raised an eyebrow. "It means relax." He said. She rolled her eyes.

"Tony! We have to share a bed! That does not bother you?" Tony laughed and picked up the remote.

"Do you want me to lie to you? Or do you think," he stopped and got his Jack Nicholson voice ready, "you could handle the truth?" She rolled her eyes and walked away from him again. Tony stood up and followed her. "Oh come on Ziva. Am I really _that_ bad to share a bed with?" She turned around and stared at him. "We are adults. Partners. Buddies. We can share a bed without...wanting each other." Tony walked away from her and Ziva shook her head to herself. _Yeah right._ She watched him as he talked on the phone with the boss, giving him an update. She _loved_ that shirt on him.

But she wished it was...on the floor. Along with the jeans.

"So you wanna get something to eat?" He asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Did you tell Gibbs about our bed problem?" Tony just stared at her.

"Are you crazy?!" He asked. She half smiled. _I am wishing that my partner's jeans and shirt were on the floor, next to the bed. Yes. I am crazy. _

"You do realize that the president has more powers than Gibbs, yes?" Tony furrowed his eyebrows together.

"What does that mean? You're not hungry?"

"You acted like an idiot." Tony scoffed. They stared at each other.

"Lets go eat." Ziva rolled her eyes and sighed deeply.

"Fine. Let me go wash up." She said. Tony groaned.

"You look beautiful. I'm hungry, let's go." He said, opening the door.

"What did you say?"

"I said I'm hungry. Lets. Go."

"No, before that."

"I said you look fine." Ziva rolled her eyes and walked past him. _Jeez Anthony, you better watch it. You're letting things slip._

They walked out of the hotel room and down the hall. She was quite aware of what Tony had said to her. He had called her beautiful. Wasn't the first time, of course, he had called her 'La Bonita' once...a couple times...but never anything in English. And he said it so naturally! A blush rose to her face and she scolded herself. _Stop it! He probably says that to everyone! Even Jen! He probably said that to Jen! _It was only then that she realized that they were already exiting the elevator, and his arm had slipped around her waist. She liked the feeling of her hip running into his, as a protection almost. They crossed the lobby to the restaurant, and she didn't have the guts to look him in the eye. Honestly, she was afraid that he'd let go. Ziva felt as if the entire world was looking at her and Tony. Ziva and Tony. Tony and Ziva. Oh how she loved the two names together. She hated herself for it. He called for two tables and she shuddered in his grip. His scent was so intoxicating...she felt the shivers running through her spine as his warm hand moved lightly up and down her hip, changing grips. She never wanted it to end. She had to resist the urge to jump him.

_Don't do it. _She scolded herself, _Do not, Ziva David. _The hostess brought them to their table and she sat down across from him. She was both thankful and sad at the same time. Sad that he let go of her, but thankful that she didn't have to resist the urge to jump him...as much.

The waiter came by and took their orders for them. Tony ordered them a bottle of wine, even though Ziva said that they shouldn't drink. However, he had convinced her that it was okay considering that the Presidents speech wasn't tomorrow. _And _Tony said he'd never gotten drunk off of wine. Ziva agreed, she hadn't either.

They ordered their food and then sat in an awkward silence, one glass of wine on the table, the other in Ziva's hand. She watched the liquid as she twirled it around in small circles. She finally stopped and looked up at him, "Tony." She called, and he snapped his eyes up to meet hers.

"Yeah?" He questioned.

"It has been a while..." She started, quietly, carefully picking out her words as she spoke.

"Yeah, me too." He said, and she stopped and looked up at him. _Oh. _She thought, _He must be reading my eyes again. _She cursed herself for having such readable eyes. But then again, Tony had readable eyes as well...and how come even Gibbs couldn't read them but _Tony _could? He laughed, "Last time was with Jeanne."

He heart skipped a beat as she realized what in the world he was talking about, "Not that!" She nearly screamed, her heart kicking into full gear. She quieted her voice, "I meant since it was just you and me...us. Just eating dinner and talking. Do you remember?"

He just nodded, "Yeah." He said, laughing, "I remember. I had to explain the entire Bond movies to you as well as the Original Star Wars trilogy _and _Smokey and the Bandit. I mean, come _on _Ziva! I'm just glad you didn't resort into wearing your hair like Princess Leia in those stupid little honey buns." He clasped his ears together and she laughed.

"I thought they were stylish!" She defended, "And then you did them for me..." He laughed, putting a finger up and then shaking it at her.

"And then you realized you looked dorkier than McNerd!" He laughed and she just smiled, looking down at the table.

"But I did not say that, Tony. McGee is a good person."

"Didn't say he wasn't." He said as the waiter arrived with their food. He set down a steaming hot plate of Pasta a la Vodka in front of Ziva. He then set down a plate of Steak, green beans, and potatoes in front of Tony. The dinner was silent, for Tony was starving. However, Tony interrupted as Ziva carefully dabbed the sides of her mouth with the napkin before returning it back to its original place, in her lap. He held up his fork, a piece of steak on it, "This is amazing, Ziva." He said, "Try some." She opened her mouth and he fed her the piece of steak. She smiled and gave a small moan in content as she took a sip of her wine.

"Very good, Tony. Try some of my pasta." She offered, "Delicious." She smiled as she did the same that he did to her. They were interrupted by the ringing of a cell phone and they both pulled theirs out.

Ziva answered, "Shalom." She greeted, not bothering to look at the Caller ID before picking it up.

"I'm going to the little boys room." Tony announced, quietly, as he stood up, putting his napkin down in his seat, and then starting towards the back of the restaurant.

"_ZIVA!" _Abby's high pitched scream came through the receiver and she pulled it back a little, _"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THAT YOU AND TONY WERE DOING PROTECTION DETAIL FOR THE PRESIDENT?!"_

Ziva sighed, "Abby, Gibbs shoved us out of the door. I do not even think that McGee knew and he was there." She let out, exasperated.

Abby sighed now, "_Fine. But...sooo...how's Tony?" _She asked and just by the sound of his name, she could feel the blood rushing to her cheeks.

"Why do you ask?"

_"Because. I know he went with you. I mean...duhhh...and I know that you have to spend the night together for what? At least three days?" _

She nodded, "Yes. What is the big deal?"

_"How many beds?" _She suddenly asked, and Ziva looked around, praying that Tony would come back and save her from this nightmare of a conversation. She was so embarrassed, she couldn't even explain it.

"One." She quietly said, and then Abby started to scream. That was the only way to say it. She just pulled the phone away from her ear, unable to stand the high pitch.

"_Ziva! Ohmygosh! I'm so happy for you!" _

"Why?" She demanded and then she saw Tony coming back from the Men's room. She let out a sigh of relief, "Tony is coming back. I must go, Abby. I will talk to you later, yes?" She questioned, and then shut the phone before Abby could say anything else.

He sat back down in front of her, "Who was that?" He questioned, setting his napkin back in his lap.

"Just Abby." She said, "You did not have to leave."

He shrugged, "Thought it would be polite. Could I have a little bit more of that pasta?" He asked, grinning as he reached his fork towards her plate. She nodded, robotically, and moved the plate towards him. Did he just say that he wanted to be _polite_?! Tony DiNozzo? No, she must have heard that wrong. He simply needed to go to the bathroom.

Tony eventually decided that he _really _liked Ziva's dinner and started eating the food that was on her plate. She ate some of his as well. Slowly, it ended up being that Ziva finished Tony's dinner and Tony finished Ziva's. The bill was paid and then they started back across the lobby, towards the elevator.

Tony pressed the button and they waited a whole five seconds in silence before the doors opened up and revealed the empty elevator shaft. They stepped in and then pressed the level for the floor that their room was on, eight, the top floor. Of course.

The elevator stopped at floor three.

Four people got on.

It stopped at floor five.

Two people got on.

It stopped at both floor six and seven.

A total of five people got on.

The more people got in, the further back the duo was pushed until they were in the corner, shoved up against each other, chest to chest. Ziva, once again, made the sad mistake and looked him deep in the eyes. Her heart fluttered a beat or two as he leaned down closer towards her. (If that was even possible, they were closer than they were in the closet during the Lee fiasco months earlier! And, like they said, time makes the heart grow fonder, and boy was that the truth. She had grown fonder and fonder of Tony DiNozzo, in fact, maybe too fond of him.

"You smell really good, Ziva." He drawled out her name, his voice barely a whisper. And suddenly, the screaming babies didn't exist anymore, neither did the whiny children or the businessmen on the phone. It was just them, oblivious to the world. On instinct, she leaned towards him, nearly colliding her face with his chest. She inhaled deeply.

"So do you," She whispered back, and the only thing that brought them out of their trance was the soft ding of the elevator doors opening. It was then that they realized that they were the only ones in the elevator. The man on the other side gave them a weird look as they jumped away from each other like hot plates and then scurried down the hall and out of the elevator.

Once inside the hotel room, Ziva immediately went towards the bathroom, "I am taking a shower!" She called over her shoulder as she hurried into the bathroom. Tony sighed and nodded as he sat down on the couch. He heard the bathroom door close and then, a couple of seconds later, the water start running. He propped his feet up and then grabbed the remote control, however, he didn't turn on the television. He just simply stared at the blank screen in front of him. Suddenly, he heard her shout his name.

"Tony!" She called, and he stood up, on red alert. He bolted towards the bathroom, that was the only word for it, and banged on the door.

"Ziva!" He shouted, "Open up, sweetheart, what's wrong?" He demanded, banging more on the door.

In the shower, she furrowed her eyebrows together, "I just need my body wash. It is in my suitcase." She said, "In the blue striped toiletry bag." She directed, and he visually relaxed as he walked away from the door.

"Called her freakin' _sweetheart_, and then I freakin' freak out about her stupid freakin' body wash. Damn it." He muttered angrily to himself as he started towards her suitcase, unzipping it. He rifled through her things before finally finding the bag she was talking about. He opened it up and eyed what she had packed in there. He found the body wash, set it on the ground, and then looked through the other products. She had a small travel sized tube of toothpaste, a simple purple toothbrush, a bottle of Neosporin, a couple of bandaids, birth control pills (just how many people did she sleep with?), and, Tony's favorite, a small bottle of lubrication. He smirked and then let it fall. _Is she planning on hooking up with someone here?! _He angrily thought, and then pushed that thought to the back of his mind. Probably forgot to take it out from the last time she went on a trip. _But then why did she use it that time? _Knowing that Ziva was probably getting annoyed, he threw the bag back into the suitcase and then grabbed the small bottle from next to him. He walked towards the bathroom as he flipped open the lid and sniffed it. It smelled of lavender. _So that's how she smells so good! _He thought as he inhaled a strong amount, reminiscing in the scent. Finally reaching the bathroom, he knocked on the door.

"I uh....have your body stuff." He said, looking down at the bottle.

"Bring it in." She called back, and he gulped.

Go in there?

With her?

Still in the shower?

N-Naked?

He took in a deep breath and then opened up the doors. He determined where the shower was in a split second before he quickly closed his eyes and turned around. _Of course the doors had to be clear glass! Damn it it's killing me. _

He took in another reassuring, shaky breath. He could do this. He turned around and walked towards the shower, his eyes still closed as he walked towards it, body wash in hand. Then, when he thought he could do it, he ran right into the shower door, causing it to pop open. In shock and surprise, he opened his eyes and then nearly fainted, for he was staring at sixty-seven inches of wet, naked _goddess. _

"Thank you." She smiled at him, and then took the body wash from him as she closed the door. He couldn't have sprinted out of their fast enough. He slipped a couple of times on the tile flooring but managed to get out of there, shoving the door behind him. He took a couple of deep breathes before standing up straight and then grabbing his belt loops, adjusting his pants. He ran a hand through is hair.

"Oh my god..." He muttered as he collapsed onto the bed, his head in his hands. He didn't honestly know how much he could take of this. And he had to sleep with her tonight? "Oh just shoot me now Gibbs!" he shouted to nothing. He banged his head a couple of times. How come he had the overwhelming urge to punch rule twelve in the the jaw?

Tony stayed like that, on the bed, until he heard the bathroom door opened. He sat up quickly and tried to act casual.

It didn't work. He knew that she could see right through him.

"Tony, are you ok? You look..."

"I'm fine." He interrupted. "So, uh, movie?" He said, walking over to the television. Ziva made herself comfortable as Tony put the DVD in and pressed play. He sat down beside her and put his arm along the length of the couch. Tony tried to watch the movie. It was his favorite James Bond. He wanted to watch it.

He really did.

But he couldn't.

Ziva was sitting next to him. With that intoxicating smell.

And that beautiful, long, hair.

It was down.

Just the way he liked it.

He tried to take his mind off of her and pay attention to the TV, and it worked...for about a second. Then he breathed and smelled her again. _My God, DiNozzo, snap out of it. She is your partner._

Nope. That didn't work either. He looked at her as she started to shift. He let his arm fall on her shoulder, pulling her over to him. She put her head on his shoulder and, fell asleep. Quickly. Tony looked down at her as she slept. He didn't want to move. He looked at his watch that was on his left arm. It was now after 2300h, and they had to be at the White House the next morning. He slipped from away from Ziva and stood up from the couch. He carefully put his arm under her legs and his other carried her torso. He moved the covers and carefully placed her on the bed, praying that she didn't wake up and use those freaky ninja skills. He took off his shirt and prepared to get in the bed when he put it back on.

He couldn't sleep next to her with no shirt on. He sat down on the bed and yawned. He was tired and ready to sleep.

But then...he smelled her again. "Damn it!" He said and stood up.

He looked over at Ziva, relieved that his outburst didn't wake her. He walked around the room, and then to the window. _What is wrong with you? You weren't like this before. You were fine. Completely fine. _He ran a hand through his hair as he walked out into the balcony, leaning up against the railing that overlooked the downtown DC area. The White House was visible from where he stood, all lit up. He stared at it. _I need advice from someone who can sleep next to a woman without wanting to jump her. _He groaned, _Only one person comes to mind. _He pulled out his cell. _Timothy McGee._

Damn it.


	4. Chapter 4: Surprises

**OKAY! Hey guys! We're SOO happy with all the reviews (some of you are too nice!) not that we're complaining! ANYWAYS, here's the next chapter. We know we've gone a little Tiva crazy, but there like hasn't been ANY on NCIS! :( There should be some April 28th! We're PUMPED! So read this chapter and review (oh and btw...it's half of our's birthday...SHHH! wish C-Rokkk a happy B-day!) BYE! :D**

Tony groaned and paced around the balcony, glancing in on Ziva every once in a while.

He couldn't honestly believe he was doing this.

It took him a total number of four times to finally let the phone ring. And then he heard probie's voice. And it was only then that he realized it was a bad idea, but it was too late, he had already picked up, the dial tone ended; no backing out now.

_"Hello?" _He lazily answered.

"Listen, McGoo, and listen up good-" Tony started, but he was interrupted by McGee.

"_Tony. Do you know what time it is?"_

He glanced down at his watch. After midnight. He didn't care. He ran a hand through his hair, "Listen, I don't give a damn!" He leaned up against the balcony again and stared down. He took a deep breath, wincing, before he spoke, "I may need...your....._help...._McGee..."

"_Is there a dead body?" _

"There will be if you don't SHUT UP AND LISTEN!" He shouted. He pinched the bridge of his nose and looked down. He couldn't believe he was doing this, "Look...it's about..." He took another deep breath and looked into the room again, "Ziva..." He sighed, "I...I just...I can't do anything without feeling the urge to..."

"_What? Tony, Ziva is your partner." _He sighed deeply into the phone.

"Ugh..." He groaned, "I...I just...I can't even sleep in the same bed as her, McGee." He sighed as he continued to pace.

_"You're sleeping in the same bed?"_

Tony stopped pacing, "What? Abby didn't tell you? Yeah, yeah, we're sleeping in the same bed...McGee! Teach me some classic geek moves and tell me how to sleep next to her without feeling the urge to _jump her_! Please! Curse me with your Elf Lord skills, I don't care! Do something!" Tony pleaded.

McGee sighed. _"Look, Tony. This is ridiculous. The only advice I have for you is...it's 2 o'clock in the morning. You are on presidential detail. Get. Your. Head. On. Straight."_

"But McGee!" He whined, "No! You're not going to hang up on me, damn it!" He started to get louder, "This stupid detail assignment thingy has been for what? Not even twenty-four hours and I'm already losing my mind! All I need to do is _not jump her! _You're the only one I know who could possibly sleep next to a woman....a sexy as hell woman at that...and not want to jump her! So I need your advice, McGee!" Little did Tony know that, during his ranting and pacing, his voice was getting louder and louder, causing Ziva to stir in her sleep. She blinked her eyes open and sat up, Tony's yelling unnerving. She looked down...when did she get in bed? The last thing she remembered was watching James Bond...

"Tony?" She asked, groggily as she blinked a couple of times. He was pacing outside on the balcony.

"Damn it, McGee! Help me out! I'm begging you! I shouldn't be feeling this way about my PARTNER!" Ziva blinked. Once. Twice. And then she quickly laid back down in bed. Her heart was beating uncontrollably. Tony did _not _feel that way about her. There was no way. No way in the world. She must be dreaming...she must be hearing what she wanted to hear. Yes, that was it. She must be hearing things now. She closed her eyes tightly.

_"Tony. Obviously this can't be solved in one night. I'll say this. You need to tell Ziva." _

"Are you insane, McGroggy?"

_"Well it IS two in the morning, DiNozzo. Why don't you think this: What if Gibbs was sleeping on the couch in your room? What would he do if you jumped Ziva? Or worse. What would Ziva do if you jumped Ziva?" _McGee chuckled. He had a visual picture. Tony sighed.

"Go back to sleep." Tony muttered angrily, even a little bit of sadness in his voice as he hung up the phone. McGee was right. He needed to get over it.

He looked back into the room where she was sleeping peacefully. She would never feel the same way.

Right?

Tony sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He needed sleep. Maybe sleep would make him stop thinking about Ziva. He scoffed at himself. Yeah. Right. He got into the bed and under the covers. He closed his eyes and imagined Ziva not there.

When that didn't work, he turned on his back and began to count the little dots on the ceiling.

Ziva lay there, listening to her own heart beat. Why did he do this to her? Being a trained assassin, this was not supposed to happen to her. She was not to fall in love. Ever. Especially not with her _partner_. Not being able to take it anymore, she turned over and spoke.

"Tony I wanted..." She stopped. He was asleep. She let out a deep sigh and returned to her original sleeping position.

* * *

Ziva woke at her regular time, 0500. She started to get up when she stopped. She looked down.

Tony's arm.

It was _around_ her.

And she was next to him.

No, correction, she wasn't just _next _to him, she was shoved up against him, her back against his chest, his face on the side of hers. _Ohmygod..._she thought. Her entire body become suddenly aroused. She wanted him _so _badly. She groaned and he tightened his arm around her. Deciding that she didn't _really _want to move, and that she didn't feel that she wanted to disturb Tony, she fell slowly back asleep.

Around 0630h, Tony woke up and noticed that...well...Ziva was being held tightly in his arms. He smiled and pulled her closer. He buried his face into her hair and inhaled her scent. He slowly started to nuzzle down her hair to her neck. He froze, his lips just centimeters from skin. "OH god!" he suddenly shouted, and then he quickly let go of her and jumped up. _A hot shower's all I need..._he thought..._or a cold one. _He groaned as he closed the door to the bathroom, starting the shower.

Ziva David awoke again at around 0645h. She sat up, blinking her eyes open as she looked around, "Tony?" She questioned and then realized that he probably went out to get something to eat. In need of a refresher, and realizing that she had to find Tony and _fast, _for they had to be there at 0700h, she jumped out of bed and threw open the bathroom door before she froze.

Her eyes grew wide as they met Tony's, who was stepping out of the shower, dripping wet, and completely naked. _Do not look down. _She commanded of herself, _Do. Not. Look. Down. _She shouted at herself. They stood there, both mesmerized, frozen, in the same spot.

And then, suddenly, they spoke at the same time, "I was just-" They both said, pointing backwards. They then sighed, "Morning." They mumbled at each other.

"We need to leave in fifteen." Ziva muttered before exiting the bathroom. She let out a deep breath that she had been keeping in.

She was _definitely _awake.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Tony groaned and looked down at his watch, "Come _on _Ziva!" He shouted as he paced in front of the bathroom, keys to his Mustang in hand, "We've gotta move!" He yelled. He glanced down at his watch again. Yeah, that was right, they were about ten minutes late. Tony heard her groan as well as the bathroom door open, and he stopped pacing and turned to look at her.

He wished he hadn't.

Her hair was straight, like yesterday, but today she was wearing cargo pants. They weren't his favorite, but he did love the almost floral designed Henley-Cut top. It had an increasingly low v-neck, and he recognized it as the shirt that she wore right before Jen's funeral, and when they were on the plane back from LA.

Ziva smirked slightly. Did she ever tell Tony to stick with his casual look? Well he should. The navy blue thermal he was wearing was doing wonders for him, as well as his jeans which hung loosely on him, and the 'just showered' hair was sexy as well. But then again, whenever _wasn't _the man sexy?

"Ready?" He asked, and she nodded as they walked into the kitchen. They grabbed their badges off of the table, their temporary ID's, their issued cell phones, both of their SIGs, and then started out of the hotel room after Tony snatched his wallet as well.

The car ride to the White House was significantly quiet, with an awkward silence lingering in the air between them. After getting through miles and miles of security, which was getting to a point so bad that Ziva truly thought that Tony was going to blow up, they finally were able to get out of their car and start flashing their IDs as they entered the White House. There, they got an escort to the Oval Office. Tony recognized the same man as the man that Ziva had flirted with yesterday. However, the difference today was that she didn't even glance in his direction.

This time, the duo was sent to the Oval Office itself, not just to communications center, where the President was yesterday. Once inside, the escort closed the door after bidding good morning to the President. The duo stepped towards him, standing in front of his desk. Ziva's hands were behind her, and she was in a casual military stance.

"How are you this morning?" Mark asked them. He shook both of their hands and they each gave a polite smile.

"Fine, Mr. President, and yourself?" Tony asked. Ziva looked at him. He was acting more...normal.

"Very well, thank you." He then briefed them on the security details for the next days speech. They got the ear wigs they were to wear starting at 0600 the next morning as well as their new badges. "And for the ball..." Ziva snapped her head up.

"The ball?" She interrupted. Tony looked at her. "What ball, sir?"

"Yeah, what ball?" He asked.

"You don't know about the ball?" The President chuckled. "I do apologize, I thought that Jethro would tell you for sure. But we're having a formal ball, tomorrow night. And you two are to come. But not as security detail. As guests." Tony and Ziva looked at each other again. He finished briefing the two agents on both events, and they left the building. Tony walked out and added this: sunglasses.

"So what do you think about the ball, Zee-vah?" He asked. "You hungry? I'm hungry. Lets eat."

"Tony you are always hungry." Ziva replied. She sat down in the car.

"I guess I'll have to rent a tux." He said. Ziva only looked at him. She knew she would need help shopping for a ball room dress. Only one name came to mind.

Forensic Extraordinaire Abigail Sciuto.

"I will have to buy a dress." She said, looking down at her hands as Tony started the car and backed up before driving down the road.

"Yeah?" Tony asked as he turned the car to the right, "Well I'm hungry." She groaned and turned on him.

"Is that all you can think about? Your stupid stomach?!" She gestured to his lower abdomen.

He laughed, "No..."

"Well could you please pull over and drop me off."

"Where?"

"Here." She demanded.

"What?" He questioned, confused, "Aw come on, Zi..."

"Stop the car!" She suddenly shouted and, on instinct, he slammed on the brakes.

"Damn it, Ziva!" He shouted, but right as he was about to drive again, he realized that Ziva was already getting out of the car. She closed the door behind her.

"Thank you." She nodded and then started to walk away.

"ZIVA!" Tony shouted, leaning towards the passenger side window. She stopped, huffed, and turned around, "Hold on! You need this!" He said, and then reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. He grabbed the American Express card inside and then handed her it out of the window. She sighed and took it, "Dress is on me." He grinned, "Pick out a good one."

Even though Tony had made her rather frustrated, she couldn't help but flash him a small grin. Finally listening to the honking cars behind him, he took off and left Ziva on the sidewalk. She walked barely a couple of feet before her cell phone rang. She didn't even glance down at the Caller ID as she already knew who it was.

"What do you want, Tony?" She demanded as she slipped the credit card into her pocket.

_"I just wanted to make sure that's okay...you know...to just leave you there..." _He stuttered, forming his words.

"Tony." She sighed, closing her eyes briefly, "I told you to let me out here." She said, "It is perfectly fine."

_"Uh...okay...well...yeah...umm...just come back soon, all right?" _

She rolled her eyes as she started down the sidewalk, past boutiques after boutiques as well as a few cafes, "Tony, I am not a little kid." She said, "I can take care of myself."

_"Yeah..."_ He muttered, _"Sorry."_ And then he hung up. Ziva furrowed her eyebrows together and then stared at the phone as she brought it away from her ear. She shook her head and started down in sidewalk in shock. Maybe she didn't imagine what she heard last night...

Pulling out her cell phone again, she hesitated over Speed Dial 2: Tony DiNozzo. Why did she want to talk to him so badly? She didn't have anything to say...she sighed. She wanted to call him because she wanted to hear his voice. She internally hit herself as she pressed Speed Dial 6: Abby Sciuto.

_"Forensic Extraordinaire...wait...ZIVA!" _She shouted, "_Tell me all about last night! Tell me tell me! McGee said that Tony called him at 2 IN THE MORNING!" _Ziva took in a deep breath. _I did not imagine what I heard then..._

"I need your help, Abby." She said, "To pick out a dress. For a ball..."

She squealed...loudly, "_ZIVA!" _She shouted, "_YAYY! Let's go! I'll meet you...wait. Where should I meet you?" _

"Corner of 2nd Avenue." She said, and she could _hear _Abby nod furiously.

_"I'll be there really quickly. Like super quickly. Like Road Runner!" _And then she hung up. Ziva sighed. How come she had a feeling this was going to be a really bad idea?

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Ziva as she watched Abby jump out of her car and nearly tackle her in a big hug, "ZIVA!" She shouted as she pulled back, "We need to talk." She demanded as she pulled her around the corner, "I know a great store. So while we walk...tell me...what was it like sleeping with..." She moved up next to her, shoving her lightly in the shoulder with her shoulder "Tonyyy..." She cooed and Ziva rolled her eyes.

"We did not sleep together, if that is what you meant. No," She thought for a moment, "That is wrong. We did sleep together." She squealed and Ziva narrowed her eyes at her, "But not in the way that you think."

She sighed and let her shoulders slump, "But I know that, according to Timmy, Tony called him last night. At like 2 in the morning, complaining about _you_. And that's all I got out of the little McGee." She sighed, "You tell me! What did you do?"

"Nothing." She said, "You will have to ask Tony. He did, however, walk in on me taking a shower last night." She said, and then realized that was the wrong thing to say, for Abby was gasping and grabbing onto her arm.

"You were...naked?!" She screamed, and Ziva felt the blood rush to her cheeks as people walked by, staring strangely at the two.

"Will you not say that so loud?" She hissed under her breath, ripping her arm from Abby's grip, "Let us go and find a dress, yes?" She questioned, "I did not call you down here to interrogate me." She said, "I called you down here to help me pick out a dress. And that is what we are going to do. Do not ask me any questions about Tony. We are partners. Nothing more. Understand?" She demanded, looking her straight in her eyes.

Abby sighed and nodded, "Fine. But that doesn't resist me from interrogating Tony!" She sang as Ziva groaned and threw open the door to a dress shop. Abby followed.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

If Ziva saw another black dress she was going to pull out her gun and shoot Abby.

Not that she was going to do it, but she would definitely threaten.

"Ziva!" Abby called as they walked around their sixth dress shop. To Ziva, they all looked the same. They were starting to blur together, and she couldn't tell which designer was which anymore, "How about..." She started to pull out a black dress and Ziva shot daggers at the Forensic Scientist. She saw the look and shoved it back into the rack.

And then Ziva did what she had been doing; she sat down and waited till Abby brought over a pile of dresses for her to try on. Ten minutes later, what she was waiting for to happen happened, but this time in a large array of colors. Abby seemed to have been balancing the rainbow in her hands as she walked over and dropped them in Ziva's lap. She groaned in the weight of them, "Try these on!" She grinned, and Ziva stood up, struggling a little with the weight, before settling them in her hands. She started towards the dressing room and then walked in, closing the door behind her.

The first dress Ziva tried on was a light blue that was strapless and made of a shiny material.

Abby's reaction: Thumbs Down and: "You look like one of those Olympic bobsledders!"

The second dress Ziva tried on was a forest green dress with spaghetti straps and a large bottom that flowed out in every direction, the ruffles overlapping.

Abby's reaction: A big tongue out and: "You look like a female version of the Hulk after a cupcake fight gone _bad_!"

The third dress Ziva tried on was a red, almost Victorian style dress that had large, puffy sleeves and, like the green one, a bottom that was _very _large.

Abby's reaction: A laugh and then _two _thumbs down and: "We don't live in the 20's!"

The fourth dress Ziva tried on was simple black with a v-neck. It was shiny like the first dress, and the back was corset style.

Abby's reaction: All of the above reactions and: "Uhh..._no_."

The fifth dress Ziva tried on earned Abby's approval, two thumbs _way _up, a dropped jaw and: "Ziva, _I'm _drooling. Just think about what _Tony _is going to do!"

Sold.


	5. Chapter 5: Double Shot

**Ok...A big shout out to the reviewers! We love you guys! And thanks for the birthday wishes. :) So here's chapter 5, and it's very long. But there is a point to our madness. So enjoy and leave us one! **

"Hey. What did you get?" Tony asked happily. Ziva moved the dress out of his reach.

"No. You will have to wait." She replied with a smile. She went over to the closet and hung it up, closing the doors behind her.

"What? Oh come on!" He said. She put her hands behind her back and held the doors together. He walked up to her. "You're seriously not going to let me see?"

"Nope."

"Then I won't let you see my tux." He replied. She looked up at him and smiled.

"Ok, Tony. I will not look at your black pants, white vest, black coat and black tie _until_ the ball. And you will not look at my dress." He lost his smile.

"At least tell me the color. The color!" He whined.

"No." He rolled his eyes and sighed deeply.

"Fine." He walked away from her. "Well lets go eat. I'm starving."

"You're hungry again?" She asked, bewildered. How much could this man eat?

"I haven't eaten yet...I thought we were going to after you...finished shopping."

"Tony, Abby and I had lunch." He stopped looking at her and looked down at the floor.

"Oh." Ziva felt horrible. She could _hear_ the disappointment in his voice. She walked towards him.

"Tony, I...did not know..." She sighed, and he just brushed past her, grabbing his keys.

"I'll just get it by myself." He muttered as he threw the door open and then slammed it shut. Ziva looked at the door and contemplated following him, but then realized that a hungry Tony was an angry Tony, and she didn't want to deal with that.

Not knowing what else to do, she wrung her hands together and then sat down at the table in the kitchen, pulling out her SIG and setting it down. She then managed to fish out her gun cleaning supplies and went to work. All she could think about now was what was in store for them tomorrow. Protection detail for the President of the United States. The head of the entire nation. If she even made the slightest error...it could potentially be fatal or severly damaging for the country.

She barely noticed Tony's reappearance into the room, a take-out bag in hand a couple of hours later. He sat down in front of her and pulled out the Chinese food, "Decided it was too late for lunch. Got us dinner." He said, passing her two containers across the table. She just glanced up at them and then focused her eyes back on the gun in front of her.

Tony shoveled the noodles into his mouth as he cracked open a beer can. He took a sip as he watched his partner. The food was left untouched in front of her, and she was still brushing down her gun, "You all right?" He questioned as he slurped the noodle that was hanging from his mouth.

"I am fine." She said, but she didn't look up at him.

"You don't need to clean your gun, Ziva." He said, taking another gulp from the beer can, "You're not gonna fire it." She put the brush down and loaded the bullets back into the gun.

She finally looked up at him, "You never know." She said, cocking the weapon in her hands.

"You scared?" He finally asked, and she just glanced at him for a couple of seconds before standing up and starting towards the balcony. Tony sighed and then took that as a 'yes'. Never before would he think that Ziva David would be _scared. _He left the Chinese food there as well as his beer as he stood up. He carefully, slowly followed her into the bedroom and found her leaning up against the balcony, her back to him, her head down, looking at the traffic below. He leant up against the side of the door, "It's okay to admit you're scared." He said, softly, and she just glanced over her shoulder at him.

"I am not scared." She spat, annoyed, and Tony laughed.

"For being a Mossad assassin, you are one horrible liar." He grinned, but didn't take a step towards her, he just adjusted his position against the double door frame.

She sighed and waited a couple of seconds before she spoke, "I..." She spoke slowly, choosing her words carefully, "I have never...done...anything...like this before."

Tony almost gaped. Never? "You've never done protection detail for any of those high and mighty Israeli people?" He asked, taking a couple of steps towards her.

"Never." She shook her head, "I mean, I have done protection details for high authorities, but never a major event...in front of people." She sighed, "I know why Gibbs chose me, I am an assassin. If there's an assassination attempt on the President, I have full capability and knowledge as to how to take them down."

"Yeah..." Tony started, "But isn't that like cannibalism or something?" He joked, and she just glared at him. He nodded, understanding. "Not a time for jokes." He said, looking down from where he was leaned up next to her on the balcony.

"I am protecting the country that is not my home." She whispered, "My father would be so disappointed with me."

"I'm not disappointed with you." Tony heard himself saying, "Neither is the President or Gibbs or Abby..."

"But Tony does it-" She turned quickly towards him and then caught her breath in her throat as she realized just how close they were. Almost as close as they were in the elevator last night. "Matter..." She whispered out, using solely her breath to carry the word as it lingered in the air. Both of their bodies stiffened as her eyes moved from his lips to his eyes, which were trained on her.

"Ziva..." He whispered, stepping closer towards her, just centimeters. Ziva didn't move. Tony moved his face down, slowly, and Ziva closed her eyes on instinct. His lips were just centimeters from hers and she braced herself for impact. She felt his warm hands move to her hips, a loose grip on her. She leaned up towards him when Tony's cell phone started to ring from inside. Tony jumped and then brushed past her just as Ziva sighed and opened up her eyes.

"What do you want, McInterrupt?" He demanded, but then wasn't greeted with McGee's voice, but Gibbs.

_"And what did I interrupt, Tony?" _He questioned, and Tony gulped, looking back at Ziva, who was still standing on the balcony.

"Uh...just...uh...." He glanced down at the table and saw the Chinese cartons there, "Dinner!" He shouted.

"_Listen, DiNozzo, I just wanted to call and check up on you two."_

"Well we're all fine here. Perfect. Calling to make sure that we haven't killed each other?" He questioned, laughing a little.

_"Yeah." _Gibbs agreed, though Tony didn't really think that he was convinced, "_Oh, and DiNozzo?" _He asked.

"Boss?" He questioned as he watched Ziva walk in from the balcony and disappear, the bathroom door closing.

_"Rule Twelve." _He said, and then hung up. Tony shook his head and then sighed before grabbing his beer and Chinese carton and walking towards the couch. He sat down and flicked on the TV, a basketball game popping up onto the screen as he ate his food.

Ziva reappeared into the living room about ten minutes later, her SIG still holstered to her waist. Her right hand was twitching, as if she was ready to grab it and snap it at him at any moment.

Their eyes met and she sat down next to him. He had never seen her this nervous before. She stared down at her hands and Tony reached for the remote, pressing the mute button with his thumb as he turned towards her, "Relax." He commanded. It wasn't a soothing command, it was just a _command. _

"Tony." She firmly said, after waiting what seemed like an eternity to speak, "We are protecting the President of the United States tomorrow...the heart of this country, and you are not nervous?"

"No." He said, flashing his famous DiNozzo smile. He let it fall, "But you are."

"Of course I am! I have come to love this country and everyone in it, Tony....well maybe not everyone...but if I fail to protect the President, I will be at fault and that would be disobeying my country, and I am a citizen of this country."

"Well obviously Gibbs thinks something of ya." Tony shrugged, "He's got faith in you....I have faith in you...shouldn't that be enough?"

She shook her head, her eyes still fixated at the hands in her lap, "No." That was her simply yet firm and adament answer.

"Why is this bugging you so much?" He questioned, putting one arm over the length of the sofa as he turned towards her.

"I..." She let out a breath, and then snapped her eyes to meet his, "What if this ends like LA, Tony?" She questioned, "With the President being Jenny?" She demanded, using her hands to speak, "The last protection detail we were on Tony did _not _end well for any of us. We caused not only our own pain but others pain and a death to our team. What if that death is the President this time? What if we can not do this protection detail?" She demanded, "What if you get hurt?" She asked, realizing the pain she felt even when she said it.

Tony sighed. As much as he didn't want to admit it, she had a point; they sucked at protection details. End of story, "Nothing is going to happen tomorrow, trust me. You need to calm down. We have done more dangerous missions before. _Much more._ Hell, I've survived the freaking plague, Ziva. And you've survived how many terrorist attacks and suicide bombers?" She just sighed, almost defeated, "Exactly." Tony took that as his response, "You'll do fine. We just have to stand there and look professional." He grinned, leaning forward, "And then I get to see you in the dress." He grinned, and he saw a small smirk crawl to her face. He then bolted towards the bedroom.

"Hey!" Ziva shouted as she jumped off of the couch and raced after him, "Tony!"

"I wanna see the dress!" He grinned just as Ziva slipped between him and the door, grasping the handles behind her.

She grinned, "Hah." She gave him a powerful smirk and he narrowed his eyes at her.

"You wanna play tough then, eh, _David_?" He asked, putting emphasis on her last name.

"You are not seeing the dress until tomorrow, Tony." She said, leaning forward, their faces inches from each other, "Sorry." She teased as she pulled back. He was happy that he was able to get her mind off of the protection detail for now. He loved her smile. She should wear it and dresses more often.

He laughed, "You don't think that I will sneak out of bed tonight to look at it?" He questioned and she narrowed her eyes at him.

"Tony." She said, "Remember that I am an assassin. Who sleeps with a gun." She said, and he laughed. She hummed in agreement, "Hmmm....?" As she nodded, a small, closed smile on her face. She then tapped the side of his cheek before starting away, "Oh and Tony?" She called, and she turned around. He took one longing glance at the closet door and then sighed as he turned towards her.

"What?"

She paused with an open mouth, trying to find the words, "Thank you." She spoke softly, the smile still on her face as she turned back around and started towards the table, setting her SIG down and grabbing the Chinese Carton. He always knew how to bring out the best in her. She would be devastated if anything happened to him. But would she tell him that? She scoffed and laughed.

Not if her life depended on it.

Wait...

Never mind.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The duo went to bed early that night, which was unusual, but they both had a long night. Tony reassured Ziva that everything would go as planned the next day, and she needed to quit worrying. All of her worrying made _Tony_ worry. About her.

She was usually a tough, secret ninja agent chick.

Why was she acting like this? Ah hell, he didn't know.

But they _did_ have to protect the President the next morning.

The two crawled into bed, each of them on the edge, pretending that they didn't almost kiss earlier. As the night went by, they both ended up in the middle.

Ziva looked at the clock, which read 0104h, and then over at Tony, who was already sound asleep, and his right arm was around her. Again. She smiled to herself. Sighing deeply, she shifted again. She wanted to go to sleep. She _needed_ to sleep. But so many things were running through her mind.

Tony saw her _naked _in the shower.

Tony was on the phone. With McGee. Talking about her. She was still trying to decide if that was a dream.

She saw _him_ _naked_ in the shower.

He was disappointed that she didn't have lunch with him. _Very_ disappointed. She sighed again.

Then...she looked at the balcony. The moon now illuminated it.

They...almost..._kissed_. There. On the balcony.

Anthony D. DiNozzo almost _kissed _her.

What would have happened if his phone didn't ring? Sometime, she didn't know when, but at some point, she fell asleep. And it was one of those deep, deep, sleeps.

_Tony and Ziva stood on the stage, next to the president as he made his speech. She kept looking up at Tony. She wasn't sure why. _

_He was fine. Standing there, looking oh-so-sexy, next to her. _

_He only smiled, as a reassurance again. She'd smile back at him, and then turn her attention back to the president. Another 10 minutes rolled by. Same cycle. She was listening to the constant chatter in her ear wig. It was the other secret service agents. She looked up at Tony again. _

_Yep. Still there._

_She turned back to the president, but then scanned the crowd with her eyes._

_Something. Wasn't. Right. _

_And then..._

_A gunshot. _

_And Tony was on the ground. _

_Lifeless._

"TONY!" She yelled and sat up quickly, breathing hard. Tony sat up, just as fast as she did.

"What? What's wrong?! Are you ok? Wh--". He looked down at her arms. His chest was bare; he threw off his shirt when he got hot.

But Ziva...her hands were on his chest. "What are you doing?" He asked. Not that he minded.

"You...got shot..."

"What?" He asked.

"At the speech! You got shot! And you were..." She stopped her hands. "Shot...here."

"Ziva..." He said, but then suddenly felt her lips on his chest. It sent shivers up and down his spine, but he knew it was because of her dream. He put his index finger under her chin and lifted it her head, so that he was looking directly in her eyes. "I am _fine_." He said. "It was just a dream. Lay down." She was resistant at first but then did what she was told. "Calm down. Relax. I am fine. Nothing is going to happen." He continued to listen to her as she breathed hard. It finally slowed down a little, and then it was quiet again. Deciding that she was asleep, Tony lay down and put his arm back around her.

Ziva lay there, with her eyes open. She wasn't asleep.

She _couldn't_ sleep.

And that's how she stayed the entire night, her heart never slowing its beating, her lips still burning from when they touched his hot chest.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

At 0530h, Tony groaned and woke up. He stared down at the woman next to him, his arm around her. However, there was something wrong. Her eyes were bloodshot and wide open, "Damn it, Ziva." He muttered as he threw his head back against the pillows.

"Good!" She suddenly shouted, "You are awake." She sat up and moved towards him, "Are you...okay?" She questioned.

"NO!" He shouted, sitting up. His face was close to hers, "Ziva! You...you were the one that was freaking out about the protection detail and _you're _the one that got no sleep over some stupid dream! Obviously someone wants me around longer because if they didn't, I'd have been dead long before I met you...I would have died from the plague! Damn it, Ziva!" He groaned and fell forward, shoving his head in his hands. He shook his head side to side in his hands, banging fists against the side of his head before he sat up again, staring at her.

"I am...sorry..." She struggled trying to find the words.

"Forget it." He muttered, "Gonna take a shower." And then he shoved the covers off and stormed into the bedroom, leaving Ziva on her knees in bed, shocked by Tony's behavior. She sighed and stood up. She didn't know what his problem was. He wasn't the one that didn't get any sleep.

She walked over to the closet and pulled out the black suit that she had planned to wear today.

While Tony was in the shower, she got dressed, first the black shirt, then the black top, and then the black jacket over it all. She pulled on her heels and brushed her hair just as Tony came out of the bathroom, solely a towel wrapped around him. She rolled her eyes, "Would it kill you to put a shirt on?" She spat and Tony just glared at her.

"Someone needs some sleep." He muttered angrily to himself, "What'd ya do? Wake up on the wrong side of the ninja case?" He teased, though it came out as more of an insult.

She narrowed her eyes to slits at him, "I slept with _you_. I woke up in the _monkey cage." _She turned shortly on her heel, literally, before starting out of the bedroom and into the living room. She geared up and then slipped the earwig into her ear as she walked towards her suitcase and pulled out her sunglasses. She placed them on the top of her head as Tony came out of the bedroom and into the living room. He was tying his tie as he did so, a nice red one to contrast his black suit. He geared up as well, placing his earwig in his ear just as Ziva did.

Ziva sighed as she changed the lenses for her sunglasses. She knew that now was not the time to fight with Tony. But she also knew that she was insanely tired, "Tony...I must warn you." She said, not looking up at him. He stopped what he was doing and looked up at his partner, "I am very testy right now. I will probably pull my gun out on you at the drop of a cat." She let out a little angry laugh.

"Hat, Ziva it's..." and suddenly his eyes were met with hers, shooting very powerful daggers at him, "Never mind. Let's go."

She glanced down at her watch as Tony started towards the door. She furrowed her eyebrows together. She knew she was tired, but she wasn't _that _tired, "We do not have to be at the White House for check in until 0800h. It is 0600h now." She pointed out.

"Yeah, and you have been up since 0200h." He grabbed her arm, "Coffee run. Now." And with that, he shoved her out of the door.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

After coffee, Ziva and Tony rode in silence to the White House.

She was aggravated with him.

And he was aggravated with her.

It certainly wasn't the first time. And they each knew it wouldn't be the last. Tony yawned as he drove through security, flashing his badge each time. There were several cars ahead of theirs. And they weren't moving. At all. Tony sighed and then turned when he saw motion in the corner of his eye.

"Ziva...what are you doing?" He asked. He watched as she pulled her shirt off, leaving just her tank top. He raised an eyebrow. "Please, don't stop." He joked. She just looked at him and grabbed her bullet proof vest out of the backseat. Tony rolled his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "You. Do. Not. Need. That." He said.

And suddenly, a gun was being trained in his face, her eyes narrowed at him. On instinct, he put his hands up and moved away from her_, "_If you say _one _more word..." She threatened, her voice sinister and smooth yet oh so deadly, "You will wish that you were wearing this vest...understood?" She demanded, and he just nodded, knowing that arguing with a Mossad Assassin who was not only nervous but _very _tired wasn't such a bright idea.

She nodded, as if she was happy with her outcome, and re holstered her SIG as she pulled on the vest. Tony just shook his head but decided not to say anything else....he didn't want to deal with that again.

The cars in front of him started to move and he took off. The rest of the car ride was silent, an unwanted tension between the two. Ziva's face was donned in what seemed to be a permanent frown, and Tony was just...annoyed. After parking their car in the parking lot, they got out and noticed a couple of other secret service agents as well. Ziva could literally feel her heart thumping in her chest. Why was she scared? She hated herself for it. Completely _hated _herself for it. And she was pissed. I mean, even the escort ran and hid from her!

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
Many fights, guns drawn, yelling matches, and protection details told later, it _finally _rolled around to 1200h; the time of the President's speech. Well, actually, it was about two minutes before that and Tony and Ziva stood on the stage with other Secret Service members, off to the side, as they waited for the President to come out and make his speech in front of the hundreds of United States citizens that were gathered.

Ziva shifted uncomfortably next to Tony who just shook his head. She needed to relax. Badly. He knew that saying anything would just set her off and if she lunged at him like a mountain lion at its prey...well...let's just say that Gibbs wouldn't be too happy. Cause he had a _pretty _good feeling that both Gibbs, McGee, Abby, Ducky, and even Director Vance were all watching ZNN at the moment.

Ziva's eyes were darting back and forth, she had that strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. She wanted nothing more than to force Tony to stay behind her. Something wasn't right. Something was _very _off. She continued to listen to the chatter in her ear as Secret Service Agents cleared off areas, securing them. She scanned the crowd again and then looked down at her watch to check the time. Exactly 1200h.

_"President en route." _Her comm cackled into her ear, "_Make sure all areas around the President are secure." _Her heart all of a sudden started beating in full motion. She tried to act calm. She could _feel _Tony calm behind her...not that that soothed her at all. Normally he had an extraordinary effect on her emotions, but today she was red alert, "_On stage..." _She caught the President out of the corner of her eye entering the stage. He waved and smiled to the audience, who cheered for him. He walked towards the podium and barely made it a couple of steps forward before Ziva caught a red dot coming from one of the windows of a building across the way.

And then her Mossad training kicked in. "SHOOTER!" She suddenly shouted in panic, her heart pounding loudly in her ears as she lunged in front of the President just as a shot was fired.

The President fell to the ground and Tony watched in shock and fear as his heart stopped.

He had watched the bullet snag her in the chest and she went down, fast, "ZIVA!" Tony shouted, fear, determination, helplessness and compassion in his voice as he ran towards her.

And then all hell broke loose.


	6. Chapter 6: Hurting

It was chaos.

Completely and utterly chaos. Tony couldn't see anything from the camera flashes. All he heard around him were people yelling. Tony was down on the ground, next to Ziva. "Ziva...Ziva, wake up. Ziva..." He said. He barley moved her but then was delighted when she moved slightly.

She was _alive_.

He turned her over carefully and unbuttoned her jacket, and then pulled up her shirt. There it was. The bullet. Tony breathed out a huge sigh of relief and then decided it was time to get rid of everyone that was around her, so the paramedics could at least get to her.

"Tony..." He barely heard her, but he brushed her hair out her face.

"I'm here." He said quietly. She lifted her arms to his chest.

"Are you ok?" She asked. Tony let out a sigh.

"I'm fine, Ziva."

"The president?"

"He's fine too. Maybe a little sore from the tackle, but he's fine." Tony finally decided to pick up his phone this time. "Look boss, I'm sorry I was just worried about.."

_"I know, Tony. I know. Is she ok_?" He asked.

"Yeah boss, she's fine. She had a bullet proof vest on." Tony realized then how he told her that she didn't _need_ the vest. _God, I'm a bastard_. _She would be dead if she listened to me. _And then Tony hung up. He knew that he'd get a beating for it later from Gibbs, but right now, he didn't care. Ziva was all he cared about.

She sat up again, trying to stand up, "Are. You. Okay?" He demanded, shoving her back down and she nodded.

She scoffed and rolled her eyes, "I just got shot at point blank range, Tony. What do you think?"

Tony gulped. _Kate..._

And now he definitely wasn't letting her stand up. He remembered what happened after he helped Kate up...he wouldn't let that happen to Ziva. never.

Secret Service Agents blared in his ear and even Ziva winced.

Ziva heard the sirens first, "Tony...what is that noise?"

"If you aren't talking about the screaming reporters and the Secret Service Agents on red alert in our heads than it's probably just ringing; you hit your head pretty hard on the way down." He placed his hand on the side of her face, tentatively.

"No, Tony." She shook her head, his hand brushed away, "The sirens..." She glared up at him, "Did you call the Ambulance?" She narrowed her eyes at him. Tony gulped as she sat up straight, leaning towards him. Thankfully, before Ziva could scream at him for wanting to help her, a Secret Service Agent bent down next to the two and turned to Ziva.

"You okay? The paramedics will be here shortly." He pushed her slightly backwards and nearly ripped her blouse open as he carefully extracted the bullet from her vest. He then outstretched his hand to his right and dropped the bullet into a bag that was being held open by another agent. He patted her stomach gently, smiling at her, "You just made your country proud today, Officer David." He said, patting her again, "I'm proud of you. The entire nation's proud of you." He smiled and Tony just let his lip turn up into a growl, subconsciously. He shook his head internally to himself. _Damn it, DiNozzo, this isn't the time to be jealous. _

"Come on, Ziva." He grabbed her hand and carefully pulled her up, making sure that Ziva wasn't going to be shot execution style before steadying her by the shoulders as they stood at full height. Out of the corner of her eye, the President was being put into an ambulance (for security purposes).

Tony smiled down at Ziva. He let his heart rest a little. _She's all right..._ He thought, and then his...no, _Gibbs _worst nightmare came true.

The press started running towards them, and they were already on the stage, so it was too late to run. And before Tony knew it, there were microphones being shoved every which way into Ziva's face, Tony pushed to the background of the ten cameras that were trained on her...and he was just talking about video cameras. He wasn't talking about just the simple 'Paparazzi Cameras', as he liked to call them. There must have been at least twenty different cameras being shoved into Ziva's space as well as the microphones. She stepped back and ran into Tony, unsure of what to do. To steady her, he grabbed onto her waist and kept her there.

The press yelling questions at her all became a blur:

"How did you know that there was a shooter?"

"What were you feeling while you jumped in front of him?"

"How are you feeling knowing that you have just saved the President of the United State's life?"

"What is going through your head right now?"

Before Ziva could speak, Tony stepped in front of her, smiling his famous DiNozzo smile. For once, he didn't want to be on television at the moment. All he wanted was to take Ziva back to the hotel, close all of the windows, bolt and lock the door, and make sure that she was all right. But he couldn't do that with the press in the way.

"Look, Ziva's not gonna speak right now." He grinned, "Sorry." And then he quickly turned around. He pulled her close and whispered in her ear.

"Come on, let's go." Ziva didn't do anything, she just nodded. He grabbed her hand as they walked as quickly as they could away. The press continued to yell at them and Tony just pulled her down the steps and off the stage and towards their car.

He set her down in the car and then took off before the press could catch up with them. Surely they caught his license plate number, but he honestly didn't care at the moment. Ziva stared out of the window, watching the buildings go by. However, as Tony drove past the Ritz, she became on red alert.

"Tony, where the hell are we going?" She spat.

He didn't look at her, he just kept his eyes focused on the road in front of him, "Hospital."

"No." She crossed her arms in front of her chest, "I am fine. Turn around." She demanded, but he didn't; he just sat in the same position, driving down the road. She narrowed her eyes at him, "Now is not the time for games, Tony." She said, "We should not even have left! We need to catch the assassin!" She shouted.

"Oh, trust me sweetheart, I've got the assassin." He gave her a grin and she just narrowed her eyes more at him.

"Turn. Around." She demanded.

He just stared forward, and then, suddenly, she reached over and turned the wheel to the left. He swerved into traffic in the other lane, and then realized he was going down the opposite road, the cars moving towards him, "SHIT ZIVA!" He shouted as he turned the wheel back around, driving slightly on the sidewalk (where people ran from the side) and then finally was going down the right side of the road...in the right direction. He managed to let his heart rate slow down just a little, "WE'RE LUCKY WE DIDN'T GET HIT!" he shouted, his voice slightly cracking at the end.

"I do _not _want to go to the hospital. I do not need to."

"Yeah, well I may have to!" He shouted, gripping the wheel tightly.

She rolled her eyes, "Why?"

"Heart attack!" He gasped out, "Or if you do that again, then maybe we _both _will have to!"  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Gibbs hung up with Tony and continued to watch the chaos on the ZNN screen.

"According to DiNozzo, Ziva is ok. She was wearing a vest." McGee raised an eyebrow.

"Why was she wearing a vest?" That resulted in a very hard punch on the side of his arm. McGee simply turned to Abby.

"McGee! If she wasn't wearing that vest, she would be dead right now!" She yelled. Gibbs smirked.

"Right." He simply said; and then raised his left arm to rub where she'd hit him.

"Gibbs." Vance said, entering the room. Gibbs only looked at him. Abby and McGee looked at each other, and then to the director. When nothing else was said, Gibbs spoke.

"She's alive." He said.

"Good. Looks like she's also a hero." He said and left the squad room.

"There she is!" Abby announced. Gibbs turned his attention the "moments ago" on the plasma. "Good Tony, get them out of her face. She looks like she's gonna...kill somebody." Gibbs and McGee chuckled.

"Tony didn't want to take questions?" McGee pointed out. "I thought he would be very happy to be on the front of newspapers, magazines and all over the news."

"His partner was just shot, Tim." Gibbs replied.

"Is he...." Abby snatched the clicker out of McGee's hand and paused it. "He is! He's holding her hand!" Gibbs raised an eyebrow.

"McGee. Why don't you go check on them?"

"On it." McGee nodded. He walked around them and took his weapon out of his drawer, and then was off to the elevator.

"Abby."

"Yes, Gibbs?"

"Back to work." He said. Abby half smiled and walked to the back elevator. Gibbs narrowed his eyes at the screen, which was still paused. "DiNozzo. Rule 12." He said simply.

Tony and Ziva walked into their hotel room. Tony narrowed his eyes and looked around it.

Windows.

Everywhere.

"Wait." Tony said. Ziva looked up at him.

"What?" She asked.

"Reporters." He replied. He ran over to the windows and closed the blinds and curtains, to where the only light in the room was the small amount of the sun that was coming under them. He walked back over to her. "Ok. Now. Let's...Wait."

"Tony, what are you doing?" She asked.

"You're not going to pull that gun out on me again, are you?"

"Tony..." She started but then stopped when he scooped her into his arms and marched into the bedroom. He laid her down, gently, on the bed and then sat down on the edge of it, next to her. "What are you doing?" She asked. His hand was now feeling on her chest, through the layers of her outfit.

"Making sure the bullet didn't hurt you, Zi." He replied. With shaky hands he unbuttoned the 5 buttons of her jacket. She chuckled slightly.

"I did not think you would be this nervous taking a womans clothes off." She said. He simply glared at her and then pulled the jacket off of her shoulders.

"Tony, stop. I am fine." She said again. Ignoring her, he pulled her blouse over her head. He narrowed his eyes at the bullet hole. He pointed to it.

"It hit you here." He said quietly. He then quickly unbuckled the vest and tossed that item to the side. He started to pull up her tank top when she stopped him again.

"No!" She said and tried to get off of the bed. When Tony stopped her, she let out a deep sigh of frustration. "Let. Me. Go." She demanded, and then, even though it hurt, she flipped him over onto the bed. Tony chuckled.

"Well this brings back memories." He said and then flipped them over again, straddling her, but he instantly regretted it when she winced in pain.

_Ziva. S_he didn't wince. She was an assassin.

"I'm sorry." He said.

"It is not your fault." She replied quietly.

"Where does it hurt?" He asked.

"I am fine." She insisted again. "Can you please get off of me?"

"Ziva..." He sighed. He felt like such a bastard. He had told her not to put on the bullet proof vest, which would have gotten her killed or _severely _injured, if he was lucky, and now he was hurting her more than ever. He had never seen Ziva's face wince in such pain. It was almost like a soundless sob, just the slightest, softest sound of pure pain escaping from her lips. He had to make this right, "Tell me where it hurts." He whispered. He wanted to make it better. Though he honestly didn't know how. What if it was more than just a bruise like he thought? What if it was a cut? What if...what if she dislocated her shoulder on the way down? She just shook her head, "Ziva." He firmly said, "Now."

"Come _on_!" McGee said. "I hate these things. MIT and Johns Hopkins don't teach you had to use these damn things!" He said.

And then the red light again.

He inserted the card.

Red light.

Inserted the card.

Red light.

Inserted the card.

Green.

"Finally!" He said. He walked into the dark hotel room and looked around. "Tony? Ziva?" Nothing.

He then walked into the bedroom and let his mouth fall open.

"DiNozzo, what in the hell are you doing?!"


	7. Chapter 7: Ice Cream & Ninja Bears

McGee had never seen Tony jump so high.

He must have jumped at least six feet away from Ziva, slamming his back up against the wall behind him as if Ziva suddenly became poisonous.

"MCGEE!" He shouted, "What the hell are you doing?!" He demanded, and Tim watched as Tony's chest visually went up and down, up and down, breathing _very _heavily. Ziva, who had been under Tony at the time that he had walked in, pulled down her shirt. She just gave a small wince that was invisible to McGee but made Tony go on red alert. She excused herself to the restroom and Tony wanted to follow her, but the door already closed behind her.

He curled his hands up in fists as he slowly turned to the man that had interrupted them. His eyes were icy and cold yet burning with hate, "You're a dead man, McGee." He hissed and McGee just put his hands up as if he was surrendering.

"What?" He innocently asked, "Gibbs told me to check up on you guys!"

"It's called knocking-" He marched towards him and whacked his head a couple of times with his fist, "McGee! Ever heard of it?" He knocked on his head again, "Knock knock, who's there?" He grinned an angry grin, "Oh yeah, that's right..._nothing_! You're Mr. MIT and Johns Hopkins and you don't the meaning of the word 'privacy'?!" He threw his hands up in frustration and then brushed past Tim as he stormed into the living room. Tim continued to rub his head in the places that Tony had hit him as he walked towards him, carefully. He _really _didn't want to be hit again. He kept his distance as Tony plopped down onto the couch and placed his head in his hands, "Say it." He finally said, and McGee furrowed his eyebrows together.

"What? What are you talking about?"

Tony looked up, but not at McGee...not really at anything at all, "You can say it...I screwed up."

He furrowed his eyebrows together more, "What are you talking about? You weren't the one that jumped in front of the President!"

"Yeah, well I'm a bastard." He muttered.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Ziva David turned slightly as she stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom and took in the long, wide bruise that was on her left shoulder blade. Sure, she had gotten bruises before, but never bruises that were so...noticeable. And it definitely would be noticeable at the ball tonight. She shook her head. Tony was going to freak. She applied ointment to her bruise, not that that would actually help at all, and then pulled a bathrobe on that Tony had discarded last night in an attempt to cover up her bruise as well as slipping off her heels.

Taking a deep breath, she opened up the door quietly and started out. She heard Tony talking to McGee, "Yeah, well I'm a bastard." She stopped herself from entering the living room and stayed behind the wall.

"No you're not." McGee shook his head, sighing.

"I told her not to wear a bullet proof vest, McGee!" He shouted, standing up, "If she had actually listened to me, she would be _dead _right now!" he shouted and she caught her breath in her throat and then shook her head again. Of _course _Tony would find someway to blame this on him, "And then the press was up in her face and...I got her out of there. And then I...we...came back here and we had a fight on the bed and then when I flipped her over after she flipped me over I saw her wince and..." Tony's sentence trailed off, "I hurt her, McGee." He walked towards him, "Hit me." He demanded.

"What?" McGee asked in shock, stepping back.

"Hit me!" He shouted, and then Ziva took this moment to walk around the corner. Tony's eyes suddenly went soft as he saw Ziva appear around the corner. The bathrobe was abnormally large for her, and he could barely see her feet much less any of the other clothes she was wearing before she entered the bathroom, "Ziva!" he suddenly shouted, walking towards her, "Are you okay?" He asked, placing his hands on her shoulders. She brushed him away.

"I am fine. Just tired. I was thinking that I would take a little bat nap before the ball."

Tony just gave a soft smile, "Cat nap." He smiled back, and she furrowed her eyebrows together and then sighed.

"Stupid American idioms." She muttered under her breath, "I just have to get my pants and t-shirt..." She started, and he stopped her.

"I'll get it." He grinned, "And I'll also get rid of McGee, right?" he called over his shoulder and McGee rolled his eyes.

"Well I'll tell Gibbs that _you're _just fine, Tony." he muttered as he started towards the door, "Still crazy." He smiled as he exited. Ziva just turned around and started to walk towards the bedroom. Tony started towards her suitcase and then opened it up. He spotted the black sweats she wore last night to bed. And then, there it was. Her t-shirt. Just sitting there. A simple, red t-shirt that had absolutely nothing on it. He looked up at her and realized that she was lying down on the bed already, her back towards him.

"Ziva?" He questioned.

"What?" She groaned.

"Uh..." He looked back down at the t-shirt and then shoved it down into her bag. He then reached behind her suitcase and silently unzipped his, pulling out his Ohio State Buckeyes tee, "Gotcha your stuff." He said, and then was about to close her suitcase when his eyes caught some furry and brown from underneath some clothes. Curious, he moved some clothes around and then grinned his famous DiNozzo grin as he pulled out the object. He stuffed it behind his back as he walked around to the side of the bed that she was facing and bent down next to her. He placed the clothes on the bed in front of her and then grinned, "Hey, Ziva..." He started and she rolled her eyes.

"What?" She demanded and he just pulled the object out from behind his back, shaking it.

"Ta-da!" He announced and her eyes grew wide as she snatched it from him and held it close to her chest, bringing it under the covers with her, "Aww, come on, Zi!" He whined, "I won you that ninja bear!" He smiled, "Remember where we got it?" He questioned and she nodded.

"Yes." She said, simply, flashing back to when they were waiting for a table at a restaurant. Tony got insanely bored and decided that he was determined to win her the ninja bear in the claw machine. And, ten dollars and fifty cents as well as much whining and frustration later, Tony finally won it.

"And you named it...?"

She felt the heat rush to her cheeks as she muttered, "_Ahava._"

"What?" He asked.

"_Ahava!" _She nearly shouted and then threw the covers off, "Now go away. I need to get changed." Tony nodded and the promptly left the room. She slipped on her sweat pants and then brushed through her hair before pulling her tank top over her head. She bit the bottom of her lip in order not to scream out from the pain that was soaring through her bruise on her shoulder as she lifted her arms up. She didn't want to alert Tony anymore than she had. It was only after she slipped on the shirt that she realized it was _way _too big for her. She looked down and realized it was grey instead of red and had 'Ohio State Buckeyes' written on the front, "Tony." She growled and, as if on cue, he immediately walked into the bedroom.

"Yeah?" He asked, "You called?" She shook her head, not wanting to argue with him about the shirt...besides...it was pretty comfortable.

"I am just going to go to sleep now, Tony." She said, and he nodded as she crawled under the covers and closed her eyes. Tony turned around to walk out, and then paused as he turned back around.

"Hey, Ziva?" He questioned, but then realized that she was asleep already, her light snoring starting up. He sighed and walked around to her side of the bed. He crouched down and studied her. She definitely looked a lot more weaker and vulnerable in this state, and he loved it. She clutched the teddy bear tightly to her chest as she slept. A strand of hair fell into her face and he frowned, carefully brushing it away, letting his fingertips linger as they traced her jawline, "Goodnight." He whispered, standing up and placing a small kiss on her forehead before exiting the room, closing the door silently behind him.

Once he was gone, Ziva's eyes snapped open and tentatively ran her fingers over where his lips touched her forehead, causing shivers to run up and down her spine. She smiled to herself, content, as she fell into a deep sleep, the pain in her shoulder numbed by the simple, caring kiss.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Tony stood behind the bedroom door for several seconds. He ran a hand through his hair and slowly walked to the couch. After plopping down, he took the remote off of the side table and turned on the television. It didn't take him long for a deep sleep to overcome him.

"_Ziva. You. Do. Not. Need. That." _

_"Tony, you do what you want. I am wearing the vest." He put his hand on it to stop her from putting on. "Tony..."_

_"Ziva, this is America. You don't need a bullet proof vest for a simple speech. Everything will be fine. We'll be through here in no time, and then...I get to see that dress." He smiled his famous DiNozzo grin. After several more attempts, Tony finally convinced her that she didn't need it, and Ziva put it in the backseat. He stood behind her, watching her as she nervously scanned the crowd with her eyes. _

_'She really needs to relax.' He thought to himself. She looked up at him again. He rolled his eyes when she scanned the crowd. Again. And then looked up at him. Again. He let out a sigh and then...a nightmare._

_"Shooter!" She yelled and jumped in front of the President, as the bullet rammed right into her chest. _

"ZIVA!" Tony yelled as he sat up quickly, his body covered in sweat. He stood up and started towards the bedroom, but stopped when the doors opened.

"Tony, what is wrong?" She asked.

"Ziva..." He said, once again feeling on her chest. "You weren't wearing the vest. You..." He breathed. _Calm down, DiNozzo. She's fine. She's right there, standing in front of you. _"Nothing. I'm fine." He said. He turned around and picked up his cell phone that sat on the coffee table.

"We need to get ready for the ball, Tony." She said. "It is 1600h, we have to be there soon." She said, and then turned and walked back into the bedroom.

"No we don't." Tony said, following her. "That was one of the President's assistant people. The dance has been postponed."

"Oh. Until when?" She asked.

"Tomorrow." He replied. He ran a hand through his hair. "So why don't we order room service, catch a flick and just...hang? You need to go to bed early tonight. You haven't had much rest the last couple of days."

"Flick?" She asked with her eyebrow raised. Tony let out a deep sigh.

"Movie." He replied.

"Oh." She replied.

"Don't you think it's time you buy an American dictionary, Zi?" He chuckled and walked into the bathroom.

A couple of hours later there were several room service trays around the room. Tony sat on the couch with Ziva under his arm, at which he slyly put around her, bringing her closer to him. Tony started to doze off again, but was awakened when he felt Ziva move under him.

"So what now?" He suddenly asked.

"I do not know." She replied. She sat back on the couch and crossed her arms.

"Truth or dare!" Tony suddenly yelled. Ziva raised an eyebrow.

"Tony we are not two." Ziva sarcastically replied.

"Scared of the truth Zee-vah?" He asked. She just rolled her eyes and walked into the bedroom.

"Ok, if not truth or dare, then how about ice cream? My treat." He said. Ziva half smiled.

"Ok, give me a minute to change."

Tony somehow managed to slide his arm around Ziva's waist as they walked to the ice cream shop, which was about two blocks away. _DiNozzo, what are you doing? Your arm is around Ziva's waist. And what's even weirder is...that she hasn't killed me yet_...Tony thought to himself. But he didn't move his arm...it sort of felt in place.

"Hi, how can I help you?" The lady asked from behind the counter.

"I will have the chocholate." Ziva announced. Tony turned to her and smiled.

"Vanilla." He replied. She chuckled.

"Wow, you two are easy." She said and began to make their order.

"Did you hear that Ziva? She said you were easy." Tony laughed.

"She said _we_ were easy, Tony. Meaning you." She handed them their coned and Tony paid.

"Hey...I thought I recognized you." She said.

"What?" Tony asked. _I haven't ever dated her...have I? Well, there was that one night...that I don't remember. _Tony chuckled nervously. "Well..I don't remember you...What's your name?"

"My name is Donna...but I don't know you personally." She said. "You're the guy that was on the cover! And you! You're the one that saved the president!" Tony looked over at Ziva.

"What cover?" She asked.

"You are all over the news...all over everything! You didn't know?" Tony and Ziva only stared at her. "Here." She said and handed them the magazine. Ziva moved over closer to Tony and they looked at the magazine.

"Oh Damn." Tony let out a sigh.

There on the magazine was him.

And Ziva.

Holding hands.

"Don't you know? You're the hottest couple in America!" She turned around and grabbed a marker, "Could I have your autograph?"


	8. Chapter 8: Article

Tony and Ziva walked into the hotel room and closed the door behind them. Tony had to nearly point his gun at the woman behind the counter before she finally let them leave...with the magazine.

And when they had walked into the Ritz, they were stared at as if they had just been abducted by aliens and sent back down to Earth. Ziva felt insanely nervous, which was strange, and very uncomfortable with the thousands of little eyes that were staring at her, so she subconsciously moved towards Tony. That didn't help much.

Tony ran his hand over his face and Ziva shook her head, "I am going to take a shower." She muttered before moving towards the bathroom.

Her partner heard the door close and he threw the magazine down onto the table and then plopped down into one of the kitchen chairs, as if he was defeated. How the hell could this have happened to them? He had just grabbed her hand to pull her away from the press and lead her through the crowd...he hadn't expected her to hang on. But, all right, the whole 'arm around the waist' thing while they were going to get ice cream was his fault, though the press didn't catch that, thank god.

Disturbed by the tabloid, he picked it back up and then started towards the bedroom right as Ziva came out, hair soaked wet, donned in her black sweats and a gray cami that showed just a little midriff. As much as Tony liked the sight before him, he knew that it wasn't the most important thing on his mind.

He shook the tabloid in his hands, "Let me get dressed." He said, "And take a shower. Then we'll read this." He said, his voice soft, and she nodded, almost like a robot.

"Yes." She said, and then pulled her book off of the bedside table and sat cross-legged in the middle of the bed. He watched as she stared down at it, but he knew that she wasn't reading...her mind and eyes were elsewhere, for they were staring at the part of the bed before the book.

He entered the bathroom, turned on the water, and stood in the shower, just feeling the hot water run down his skin. He didn't even touch the soap, in fact, he had the unavoidable urge to grab the body wash sitting on the small seat in the shower and bathe himself in it. He reached towards it and opened it up, sniffing it. He basked in the scent. Smelled exactly like her. Well, besides the special 'Eau de Ziva' that he couldn't possibly find anywhere else. Deciding that he needed to actually wash his body, he squirted some of the purple liquid into his hand and started rubbing it all over himself until it became a foamy mess. It was only then that he stopped, his eyes wide.

He had just used her body wash.

Disgusted by himself, he quickly washed it off and then turned off the water before drying off and then pulling on his t-shirt and sweats and exiting the bathroom.

She was still sitting in the same place that she was before, but looked up when Tony came in. He ran his hand through his hair as she turned around and placed the book back onto the beside table. He stood in front of his side of the bed and stared at her. She stared at him. No words were spoken for this exchange, "Uh...well do you wanna...." He started, and she just scooted over, crawling under the covers as she patted the other side of the bed, almost inviting him in. He turned around and grabbed the tabloid off of his bedside table and then crawled into bed next to her. She scooted closer towards him, and he scooted closer towards her, so that they met in the middle. Tony tried to ignore that heat radiating off of her body as well as the sweet lavender scent that came from both her hair and her body. Oh, and did he mention the nearly unbearable shock that sent shivers up and down his spine just by the simple touch of her shoulder and thigh against his?

She took the tabloid from his hands and stared at the cover, almost in shock, like it wasn't her. Tony laughed, "Something wrong, sweet cheeks?" He demanded, and she just stared at their hands intertwined together. _Why do we fit so perfectly? _She demanded to herself, "You knew you liked it." She just turned and glared at him, and Tony grinned as he snatched it back out of her hands. He put on his best announcer voice, "Local Woman Saves President from Assassination Attempt...and Finds Love?"

Tony just grinned....again, "Love, Ziva?" he questioned, moving in close to her. His breath was intoxicating, and hot on her face, still sweet from the ice cream that he had consumed. She just snatched the tabloid back out of his hands again as she flipped through it. They skipped through a couple of ads and then finally got to the main article: The Nation's Heroine.

She started to read, out loud, "Yesterday, April 15th, 2009, a woman that was part of the President's Secret Service saved the President himself from an assassination attempt on his life at the speech he was supposed to give on the global economic problems and controversies at 12:00 ET in front of the Capital. She managed to detect the shooter by means that are not known at this point. More will be revealed soon about this issue. The woman, who was later identified as NCIS federal agent Ziva David," Tony nudged her.

"That's you." He whispered into her ear, and she just swatted him away.

"Do you want me to continue?" She demanded and he just put his hands up in surrender and backed away, "Thank you." She smiled shortly before continuing, "who was requested by one of the President's old buddies, Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs for Secret Service protection details. She was alongside NCIS special agent..." She paused, took in a deep breath, and turned to Tony, "Are you going to make a big deal out of this? Because if you are, then please, do it now. And quietly."

Tony just grinned, "Naw, I'm good." He grinned wider, and Ziva rolled her eyes again and took yet another deep breath.

"....Tony DiNozzo." She watched his face beam up and Ziva couldn't help but let the smile grow on her face as well, it was just so darn contagious, "Right as the President walked out onto the stage to present his speech, Ziva David jumped in front of him, protecting him from being shot. Only of course, she got shot as well, but, by some miracle, she was wearing a bullet proof vest." She watched as Tony's face saddened a little, "When finally able to ask questions about the scene, Tony DiNozzo stepped in and said, 'Look, Ziva's not gonna speak right now. Sorry.' He then escorted her off the stage...by holding her hand? Reliable sources tell us that they are not only partners, but partners in..." She looked down at the words, unsure of how to speak them. She looked up at him, "more ways than one..." Ziva's eyes caught to a picture in the top corner of the page, which was of Tony leaning over her right after she got shot. Even though the picture was not the best, she could still see the desperation and...hurt? Was that hurt she saw in his eyes? She then closed the tabloid promptly, "I...suddenly am very tired." She said, turning around and putting the tabloid down onto the beside table. Tony sighed but decided not to fight with her. She turned off her light and then turned back towards Tony, cuddling down into the covers, pulling them tightly around her. He just stared down at her, and she closed her eyes, her body faced towards his. It looked as if the maid had given them extra pillows, so she was in the middle of this pillow 'cave'; there must have been at least eight pillows on the queen sized bed.

He sighed and turned off his light as well before crawling down into the bed. He stood staring up at the ceiling before Ziva's soft voice called out to him, "Tony?" she questioned, and he turned his head towards her, her eyes shut tightly, but her brow furrowed together in either anger or confusion.

"Yeah?"

"I know that this may sound...strange..." She started, and Tony laughed.

"What's the difference?" he demanded and she just glared at him, even through her closed eyes.

She just shook her head, "Forget it." She spat, and she went to turn her back on him, literally, when he grabbed her arm and pulled her back, hard. On the force, she ended up rolling right into his chest, her head automatically nuzzling into his neck. She murmured a moan of content as Tony wrapped both of his arms around her, his left arm around her waist and his right one around her hip, "Never mind..." She murmured out as she carefully wound her arms around his neck before promptly falling asleep. Tony was shocked. He didn't honestly know what to do. He just let his head droop slightly towards hers, and her rhythmic breathing lulled him into a deep sleep.  
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Tony woke up the next morning at around 0800h, Ziva's arms still wrapped around him, as if she was afraid of letting go. He thought for a moment or two about staying in that same position, but then decided against that when his stomach started to growl at him, "Ziva." He whispered, stroking her hair a little, "Ziva..." He whispered again, except this time, more persistent, "Ziva!" he whispered, the loudest this time. This caused her to groan as she lifted her head from his chest and looked up at him, "Morning sunshine." He grinned, ruffling her hair some. She glowered at him through the mess of hair in her face. She let her head drop as she groaned again into his chest, her voice vibrating against his skin. He internally shuddered.

"Uh..." He moved away from under her, "I'm gonna...get us some breakfast." He patted her shoulder, "You get your rest...take a shower...I don't care." He grinned down at her, "You're gonna need it for the ball tonight."

Ziva sighed, "Tony..."

"No, Ziva..." he looked her straight in the eyes, "Do you want to come with me?" He demanded. She shrugged her shoulders.

"I do not see how that would be a problem....that way I could make sure that you get me what I want."

Tony shook his head and then reached over and snatched the tabloid off of the bedside table, "You want to give them something else to write about?" He questioned, and she sighed, defeated. Tony had a point...he then nodded as he grabbed his clothes from on top of his suitcase before starting towards the bathroom, "They're gonna have a field day at the ball tonight!" he shouted over his shoulder, though it came out more of anger than teasing before closing the door behind him.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Gibbs walked into the bullpen, coffee donned in his right hand, like normal.

He looked around and noticed that McGee was nowhere in sight. He groaned and threw his hands up in the air in frustration, as much as he could with his coffee in hand.

"Um...sir?" Gibbs turned around and stared at the mailman, Louis was it? Kevin? Aw hell, he didn't know.

"What?" he demanded, and the man gulped and then handed him some letters and magazines.

"I was told to deliver Agent DiNozzo, Agent McGee, and Officer David's mail...?" He questioned, and then pulled out three hefty loads, each separate, "McGee's...." He handed them to him and Gibbs just pointed to the far desk. The mailman sighed and walked over to it, placing the mail down, "DiNozzo?" He asked, and Gibbs pointed to his right. The mailman rolled his eyes and walked over and put it on there, and Gibbs just smirked. _This is fun... _"David?" He questioned, and Gibbs realized he was next to Ziva's desk.

"I'll take it." He offered, and the mailman's face lit up as he handed him the bundle. Gibbs took it and then went to put it down on her desk when he was run into from behind.

"Ohmygod, I am _so _sorry, boss!" McGee shouted as he watched Ziva's mail spew all over the floor. Gibbs just sighed and threw his hands up in the air again as the mailman took off (he obviously didn't want to pick up the mess.) Leroy glared at Tim as he quickly bent down to pick up the fallen papers. Gibbs just stared down at the junior field agent as he paused.

"Problem, McGee?" Gibbs demanded, and McGee slowly stood up, his eyes fixated on Ziva's mail. Gibbs studied him.

"Uh....yeah boss, we just might."

"What are you talking about, McGee?" Gibbs shouted, almost enraged. McGee was now at full form as he turned to his boss, holding up a magazine. Gibbs just ran his hand over his face before snatching the magazine out of Tim's hands and storming over to his desk.

He slammed it down and then picked up his desk phone.

"Who you calling boss?" McGee cautiously asked.

"Who the hell do you think, McGee?!" Gibbs shouted, his face getting red now as he punched in the number, "DiNozzo!" he shouted, "To try to figure out what the _hell-" _He jabbed his thumb at the magazine on his desk, "this is!"

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Honey, I'm home!" He did his best rendition of one of the voices from an old sitcom as he walked into the hotel room, breakfast burritos in hand. Ziva appeared in the doorway of the bedroom, completely dressed and looking gorgeous as ever. She rolled her eyes.

"What did you get us, _darling?_" She made an angry, teasing voice on 'darling'.

"Breakfast burritos!" he announced, pulling out two foil wrapped cylinders from the brown bag. He tossed one to her and she barely caught it. He then poured them two glasses of orange juice, and then sat down at the table, each on opposite sides. He raised his glass up and took a deep breath, "To the President." He decided, "And to Ziva....for saving his ass." He grinned, and Ziva laughed as they clinked their glasses together.

She was just about to bite into her burrito when Tony's cell phone rang. He groaned, set his burrito down, and then reached for his phone. He pulled it out and looked at the caller ID. His face went a little pale and his heart skipped a couple of beats as he turned it so that Ziva could see the screen as well.

"It's Gibbs." he announced. He stared at the Caller ID some more, "he probably just...you know...wants to know if you're doing okay." He shrugged his shoulders.

"Or he knows about the tabloid." Ziva's eyes grew wide as she sat up straight.

Tony laughed, though it was shaky and unconvincing, like he didn't believe himself, "He doesn't know!" He laughed and Ziva raised an eyebrow, "Come on! You really think that boss reads that crap?"

"Pick up the phone!" She demanded, and he flipped it open.

"Hey, boss!" He announced, putting on his best DiNozzo grin as he leaned back in his seat, trying to act smug.

_"Put Ziva on the phone as well." _He demanded and Ziva watched as Tony visibly gulped. He pulled the phone away from his ear and covered the bottom of it.

"He knows." He mumbled, and Ziva walked around to where Tony was standing, wringing her hands together nervously as they both took a deep breath and then put the phone on speaker.

Tony nudged her lightly, telling her that she should talk, "Yes, Gibbs?" She questioned, looking around.

_"How long you've been getting..." _Gibbs paused for a moment, "_National Enquirer, Ziva?" _He questioned and Ziva sighed as she collapsed into the nearest seat. Too bad that was in Tony's lap. She immediately jumped up, embarrassed.

"A couple of months..." She responded, "Why?" Tony and her shared a look, even though they knew why.

_"I take it you haven't seen the cover then." _

"Damn it boss, we have." Tony confessed, and Ziva sent daggers at him, crossing her arms on her chest. He just glanced up at her and then back down at the phone, "Look, I have no idea how the hell they-"

_"Why were you holding her hand, DiNozzo?" _

Tony visibly gulped and they moved away from each other, making sure that their hands weren't anywhere near each other, "I...I was just pulling her off of the stage." Tony gave a shaky laugh, "She was just shot boss! It was the least I could do." He shrugged his shoulders.

_"Yeah, well that's not the only thing I'm questioning..." _He paused, "_How the hell are you two the hottest couple in America?" _

And that was when Ziva grabbed the phone and snapped it shut. Tony stared in utter awe and disbelief as well as admiration...he'd never had the guts to do that. She stood there with Tony's phone in her hand, staring down at it, as if she couldn't believe what she'd done either, "Ziva..." Tony started, "You...you know you just hung up on Gibbs...right?" He questioned, pointing slightly to the phone.

She just stared down at it.

"He's going to kill you...you know that, right?"

She snapped her eyes up to his as she flipped him the phone. He barely caught it up against his chest as he stared at her, "I would rather the press catch me first." She responded before disappearing into the bedroom, closing the door behind her.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Ziva didn't reappear for the rest of the day, which bugged Tony. He would occasionally knock on the door and ask if she was all right, and she would respond with a 'Yes! GO AWAY!' in a snippy tone that clearly told him that if he walked in there, he was going to get shot. Not just be held at gun point....shot.

So after pacing around the door for about the tenth time that day, he finally decided to watch TV....too bad nothing was on...or nothing half-way decent was on that would keep his mind off of Ziva and her behavior. He tried to convince himself she had a good reason to be in there...he _had _heard numerous sounds that he didn't particularly like, but he just convinced himself that he was paranoid.

He had even tried to give her lunch and dinner, but that didn't work. She just pushed him away...again.

And finally, it came around to 1800h. They needed to be at the White House for the ball at promptly 2000h. Tony paced in front of the bedroom door again before finally giving up and banging on the door.

"Ziva!" He nearly begged, "Open up the door! Now! We need to get ready for the-" But he was interrupted by the opening of the bedroom doors, revealing what he thought was truly a goddess and an angel mixed together...sent down from heaven, all dressed up and ready for the, "-Ball." He managed to breathe out as he stepped back in awe, his eyes growing wide as he took her in.

All of her.

His eyes roamed up and down her body.

And Tony nearly died as he dropped his jaw. He couldn't help himself from letting out his signature DiNozzo growl.

_Hot._

_Damn. _


	9. Chapter 9: Rain On Your Parade

**Heyy everyone! We'd like to thank the reviewers! We love you guys! And sorry for the update delay! But here it is! We hope you enjoy! :)**

Tony gaped a couple of times, just flopping his mouth open and shut.

He honestly didn't know what to do...she was just...gorgeous!

She was dressed in a fuchsia color, the train of it circling in a pool by her feet. The straps were beaded with a intricate design of jewels, the top in a v-neck form. The same pattern and material used for the straps were used right under her chest, to hold it all together. Her hair was made into loose curls that drooped down her back and her shoulders. She had even added some jewelry to the attire, short dangling earrings that had a fuchsia stone in the middle surrounded by diamonds as well as a necklace made up entirely of little circles with studded diamonds embedded around them.

"Ziva..." he struggled for both air and words. She seemed to be torturing him and taking both out of his mouth.

"Yes, Tony?" She asked, giving him a closed smile, saying it seductively as she did.

"Uh..." he gaped some more and then finally found his voice as well as his famous DiNozzo grin, "I'm gonna...get dressed." He smiled before brushing past her, the electricity that went through both of their bodies unnerving for each of them. She stepped out of the doorway as he closed the door, sighing as if he was finally safe. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. He didn't honestly know how much longer he could take this.

He was sure that he'd have to be in a coma for him not to jump her.

And then again, part of him didn't even think that _that _would work.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The President had apparently sent a limo for them, considering that Ziva saved his ass, okay, not his exact words, but you get the point.

Tony expected the press to be there...Ziva shifted in her seat. Tony noticed the slight nervousness that crossed her face. He wanted to turn and scream out, _What the hell is making you so nervous? _But he didn't. However, even when the driver complimented her on her attire of the evening, in which Tony couldn't help but scowl at, she didn't seem at all phased.

Just as he was about to open up his mouth and ask her, the car stopped, "Here you are Mr. and Mrs. DiNozzo."

Tony and Ziva snapped their eyes quickly to one another, "NO!" They shouted. They didn't even bother to correct the driver. Nothing else was said the rest of the ride. Tony would occasionally look at Ziva, and she would occasionally return the look. The watched as the multiple camera flashes came through the tinted windows as the pulled through the gates of the white house. Once the car stopped, the door was opened for them and Tony stepped out first. He straightened his tux, and then held his hand out for Ziva to take. She did, and he had to catch his breath again when he saw her.

One of the doorman smiled at them and opened the door, where there was an escort waiting for them.

"Agent DiNozzo. Officer David. Welcome." He said. "Will you follow me please?"

He put his hand on the small of her back and followed him. He led them to a large table, where some other people were already sitting, Tony recognized two of them as other secret service agents that were on duty with them. He smiled and slightly nodded at them, and had to narrow his eyes when they stared at Ziva.

But Tony couldn't blame them. She was breathtaking. Literally. The escort finally stopped, near the end of the table.

"Please, have a seat." He said with a smile. Tony thoughtfully pulled the chair out for Ziva and she sat down, and then he sat down next to her. They sat for a while, as the rest of the guests slowly gathered. A couple of them introduced themselves to the duo, but, now, Tony didn't even remember their names. Someone announced the president, and he sat down, along with his wife, Julie. They heard small rumblings outside.

"Looks like we're in for a thunderstorm." Mark said. He carried out most of the conversations, and Tony knew that he and Gibbs were friends. They acted a lot alike.

Except, well, the president had a wife.

That he kept.

Tony already felt the head slap for that one. The dinner was finally over, and then it was time for the dance.

They were escorted again, and as they walked, Tony looked around, while Ziva kept her head straight. She was _nervous._ She let out a sigh and looked up at Tony.

He wasn't nervous. Why wasn't he nervous? _He looks so gorgeous in that tuxedo. No, Ziva. Stop. _

He felt her looking at him, so he turned to her and smiled. He put his arm around her waist and pulled her close, whispering in her ear as they continued to walk.

"You nervous, Zi?" He asked. Even though he smelled like heaven on earth, she cut her eyes up at him. Of course he could see right through her. He leaned down to her again, and 1000 bolts of electricity ran through her body when his lips bumped into her ear. "Relax." He whispered. But how could she relax? The man she loved was holding her, in a tux, smelling wonderful, looking sexy, being thoughtful...She let out a sigh. She _really _needed to stop.

The ball room doors were opened, and the two entered. They both had to close their mouths from where they had fallen open, the room was that beautiful. After a small opening speech, the music began, and of course, it was a waltz.

Ziva looked over at Tony and he put on a fake smile.

"Now who is nervous, Ton-ee?" Tony scoffed.

"Nervous? I'm not nervous. DiNozzo men do not _get_ nervous." Tony smiled and then let it fall as he watched the other couples dance. "Why don't we..." He stopped as Ziva lifted an eyebrow.

"Why don't we what, Tony?" She asked.

"Just...wait until the next dance?" He asked. She laughed and took his hand.

"You do not know how to waltz?" Ziva asked. Tony laughed again.

"Well I know I have to touch you." He smirked. Ziva laughed and decided to play with him.

"Where?" She asked. Tony lost his smile. _Where I want to touch you, and where I'm supposed to touch you are two completely different things._

"Uh.." He stuttered.

"Come on, it is easy." She said. She led him to the dance floor. "Put your hand here." She said into his ear, and then put his hand on the small of her back. She placed her hand on his right shoulder. "Step forward." She commanded, and Tony did so as she stepped back. "Now back." He did so, and she stepped foward. "Left." She stepped right, "Right." She stepped left, "And together. Now do it again." She said with a smile. Tony finally got the hang of it just as the song ended.

The orchestra played a couple of songs that the duo didn't recognize. Then, the music suddenly sped up into a salsa like mix. Tony quickly turned to Ziva and smiled. "I know this one!" He exclaimed and basically _dragged _Ziva to the dance floor.

They moved close to each other, barely centimeters between them, their hands intertwined together. Tony grinned down at her, "Ready?" He questioned, and she just looked down and gave him a seductive smile as she shook her hips from side to side, snapped back, and then forward, her face even closer to his as she grinned.

"Ready."

He brought her arm up and around his head, spinning her around him as he moved under her. Her dress swung around her feet in a swirl as they followed each other around, Ziva spinning in and out of Tony's arms, him guiding her across the dance floor.

The passion between the two as she swung her hips from side to side and followed Tony's moves perfectly, was definitely noticed by the others around them. Slowly, the couples around them stopped to stare at the two. The long train of her dress swooped around Tony's legs as he pulled her back into him.

Their feet never stopped moving, as they moved backwards and forwards and even side to side and diagonally.

Tony only had eyes for Ziva and how beautifully she was able to move. She was absolutely flawless as she moved around the dance floor in front of him, her dress circling her like the goddess that she truly was.

Ziva only had eyes for Tony and how not only handsome he was in his tux but also how talented he was at dancing, a talent that she was sure he didn't have.

The two, only having eyes for each other, didn't notice that the rest of the couples had stopped dancing and now had formed a large circle around them.

Ziva suddenly hooked her leg around Tony, and he gulped. _What the hell is she doing? _Not that he minded. At all. She threw her body back and then snapped it back up, grinning as she did so. Her smile being contagious, he smiled back as he felt her arms wrap around his neck. She quickly undid her leg from around him and they started dancing in short steps around the circle they had, backwards and forwards, Tony leading Ziva. Finally, Tony let his arm out and she twirled out from next to him before spinning back in. However, she spun in too hard and her face was just centimeters from his as the music abruptly stopped.

Both of their smiles were gone and were now replaced with a little bit of fear and each other. Tony shifted his hand in hers, and their empty hands found each others. Tony hesitated for a moment, and Ziva felt as if she was frozen in time, for she was staring into his beautiful green eyes with her chocolate brown ones. She saw his face bend towards hers, and her breath caught in her throat before they were suddenly interrupted by a thunderous applause. They jumped from each other and turned with wide eyes to look at the amount of people that were standing around them. They were both breathing a little heavily, Tony more than Ziva since he already had scarred lungs to being with, and then they just smiled as Tony grabbed her hand and they both took a bow before starting off of the dance floor.

"That was fun." Tony said with a grin, as they walked back to the small table that was reserved for them. Ziva only smiled at him.

"I had no idea you could dance like that, Tony." They sat out the next two songs, and then the music slowed.

"Come on, this is the last one." He said, standing up.

"How do you know?" Ziva asked.

"Always slows down on the last song." He announced. They made it to the dance floor and Tony pulled her close. They danced for a couple of minutes, when Ziva spoke into his ear.

"Tony..." She whispered. She snapped him out of the trance he was in.

"Yeah?" He asked quietly.

"You smell like lavender." Tony chuckled nervously, which made Ziva smile.

"I do? Well, I must of...used that girly stuff you had in the shower." He admitted. "See I got shampoo in my eyes and they were burning." Ziva chuckled again. They continued to dance, and somehow, she wasn't sure how, they ended up closer than they were. Tony gave her a quick twirl and then pulled her close again. He moved closer to her, until she could feel his breath on her lips.

"Officer David?" She felt a tap on her shoulder. Tony shot daggers at the President.

_Damn you. You're not getting my vote again_.

"Could I talk to you for a second?" Ziva nodded and reluctantly let go of Tony. "I just wanted to...thank you."

"I was only doing my job, Mr. President." She replied. He smiled.

"I know. And I thank you for it. Jethro really does follow through. I asked him to send me the best and he did." Mark said. He then patted Ziva on the shoulder and walked away from them. Tony stuck his hands in his pockets and walked over to her. After the ball, the president allowed several press members in, to ask questions and to take pictures. They immediately swarmed to Ziva, the camera flashes and microphones right in her face. She was relieved when the president started his speech, the press moved away from her and to him.

Tony and Ziva stood near the back, trying their best to avoid the press, as they listened to the president's speech. Tony looked down at Ziva and smiled slightly as the blood rushed to her cheeks when Mark mentioned her in his speech. He whispered to her, "When we get back to the hotel, we need to make a run for it to avoid these people." Ziva smiled up at him in agreement. They stood and listened to the speech for a few more minutes.

Ziva studied the room. Every single one of the press members had their backs to them. She looked up at Tony and gave him a nudge on the arm. He looked down at her and she whispered to him, "Now is our chance, Tony." He looked around and then smiled at her. He nodded towards the kitchen.

"Towards the back." He let Ziva go ahead of him and then turned to look at the press as he walked. Yep, their backs were still turned. He turned back towards the kitchen and the waiter, who had a tray full of dirty dishes, ran right into Tony, causing the dishes to fall and make a very loud noise. The president stopped his speech and the press ran towards Tony. "Ziva go!" He yelled and quickly jumped over the waiter, who was on the ground. In pain. Tony made a mental note to apologize to him later.

When they finally made it out of the white house, thunder rumbled again as they ran towards the limo. Tony struggled to keep up.

"How in the hell can she run that fast in a ball room dress?" He panted, and then jumped in the limo behind her. "Ziva...how did you do that?"

"It is my training, Tony."

"They train you..." He had to stop and catch his breath again, "To run in a ballroom dress?" He finished.

"No. But they do train me to avoid people." Tony simply rolled his eyes and then grinned.

"We did it. No reporters." He said with a smile. Ziva giggled at him and then watched as the rain now poured on down the limo windows. The rest of the ride was quiet. When they reached the hotel, again a doorman opened the limo door with an umbrella open. Ziva stepped out and stood with him and then another one was there for Tony. He too stepped out and the limo door was shut when suddenly they heard camera flashes and footsteps that neared them.

"There they are! Officer David, did you..."

"No! Leave her alone! Run!" Tony demanded. They couldn't get through to the door, so Tony put his hand on the small of her back and led her into the rain, around the building. "Ziva, keep running! They're right behind us!"

Trying to avoid them, she ran around another corner and there they were. More cameras.

The reporters yelled at them, louder than usual because of the rain, "Agent DiNozzo, will you be proposing to Ziva soon?"

"Officer David are you and Agent DiNozzo expecting?"

Tony had enough. He stepped in front of Ziva and yelled at them, through the rain, "We are NOT together!" She ran into the receiving of the kitchen, which resulted in very strange looks from the staff. A soaking wet Tony closed the door behind him. "Hi how you doing?" He asked as he walked by them, following Ziva. She was walking faster than he had ever seen a woman in heels walk. "Ziva...Ziva! You can stop now, they're not behind us!" She continued to walk. Fast.

That resulted in her just walking faster, breaking into a small jog, holding her dress up as she did so. The train left a thick puddle of water behind her as she ran through the lobby, her head slightly down. People nearly threw themselves out of the way for the couple, still sopping wet. Ziva shoved her thumb on the elevator button multiple times as the doors opened. She slipped in, throwing the train of her dress in as well. She jammed the button some more, hoping that it would close before Tony got there.

She succeeded as the doors slid shut right as Tony was about to make his jump.

She relaxed and let out a sigh of relief as she threw her head back to hit the back wall of the lift. _"We are NOT together!" _Not together...not together...she _knew _that she shouldn't have been worrying about it, but she truly thought that maybe Tony may have feelings for her...and that the tabloid article was just something that was the catalyst for their sexual tension filled relationship that had been on a simmer since they met. She had honestly thought that they had gotten together...just because he looked at her differently....he held her differently...everything had just been different around him since the article.

Suddenly, the elevator music abruptly stopped and the doors opened. She stuck her head out onto the eighth floor, looked around, and then started down the hallway, her dress dragging on the ground, for it was heavier on her shoulders than it was before it got wet.

She let her mind wander back to Tony...as usual...and she barely heard the elevator doors ding back open again revealing yet another wet guest to the Ritz, "Ziva!" she heard him yell, and she just glanced at him over her shoulder, sending the slightest daggers that she could. He ran to catch up with her and she quickened her pace, "Ziva!" he shouted, "Please, come on! What's gotten into you?" Tony ran to catch up with her as she rounded a corner. A man came out of one of the hotel rooms and Tony nearly had to shove him out of the way in order not to hit him or inflict any pain at all, "Ziva!" He shouted as she inserted the key into their door, "Ziva!" he shouted again, exasperated this time. What was her problem? Everything was fine at the ball! He ran as fast as he could and caught the door right as it was about to close. She headed towards the bedroom when he did all but lunge at her to stop her, "Ziva!" He pulled on her arm and she spun on him.

"Tony! Go away!" She suddenly shouted, "Do you not understand? I do not want to be with you..." She took a short deep breath, "Just like you do not want to be with me." She shortly said before glaring down at his arm gripped around hers, "Do you mind?" She spat before ripping her arm out of his grip. She headed into the bathroom, quickly, shoving and locking the door closed behind her.

Tony furrowed his eyebrows together. Not wanting to be with her? What the hell did that mean? He walked towards the bathroom and banged on the door, "Ziva!" He shouted, "Come on, get out of there...tell me what's going on."

"You know exactly 'what is going on' Tony." She yelled through the door, "You just are too chicken to come out and admit the truth."

Tony threw his hands out to the side in confusion, "What truth?" He demanded, "Ziva, if you're gonna be mad at me, at least tell me what I did! If it was the whole breakfast burritos thing...look, I didn't mean to. I should have let you come with me if that wasn't what you wanted...." He paused and thought for a moment, "Oh! Or if it was using that body crap of yours...I'l buy you some more! Just come _on_, Ziva!"

"No!" She shouted through the door, "Tony, it obviously means nothing to you and you do not care about it at all. So why do you just not...go away?" She demanded, "I am sure that you are happy...today is our last day here." She scoffed through the door, and even Tony could hear it, loud enough as if she was standing right next to him.

"Ziva!" he banged on the door but then finally gave up. He threw his hands up in the air in surrender, "I give up! I have no freaking idea what the hell you are talking about!"

The door finally opened and an angry Ziva gave him a glare and a closed, mad smile, "I am sure you do not." She said, and Tony stepped back. She looked just as sexy as she did in LA...

"Uh..." He stuttered through his words. A ball gown and now _this_? Damn she was truly trying to kill him, "You get over things really fast." He gave a nervous laugh, "I've heard of lingerie...but I've never..."

"It's a _bikini!" _She spat and he grinned.

"I knew that." She just rolled her eyes as she grabbed a towel out of the closet as well as a bathrobe to cover herself up, much to Tony's dismay, "But why are you wearing it?"

"I am going for a swim." She responded.

"Why?"

She huffed as she walked towards the door, "Because I am not tired. And since I can not go on a run...I will go and take a swim." She then glared at him before slamming the door shut behind her.

He spun in a circle and ran a hand through his wet hair, water droplets flying everywhere. He undid his jacket buttons, ripped it off, and then started with his tie and shirt when he realized that he knew what he needed to do to make it up to Ziva. It all of a sudden became blatantly obvious what she was upset about. Well...what he _hoped _she was upset about. He threw the rest of his clothes, besides his pants, onto the ground, and then bolted out of the door, "Damn it, Ziva." he muttered, closing the door behind him, unbeknownst to both of them that both keys lay on the table inside of the room.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Tony got many weird looks, for he wasn't wearing a shirt, as he stepped out of the elevator. He crossed the lobby and entered down a separate hallway, the smell of chlorine and the sound of water splashing letting him know that he was in the right place. He opened up the door and entered, finding the pool empty except for the lone woman swimming laps.

Ziva.

He looked around, unsure of what to do. Finally, he kicked off his shoes and socks and then promptly dove into the water. It was cold but not too cold, in fact, it was just right. He emerged and then noticed that Ziva was still swimming, just a couple of feet from him. He lunged towards her and grabbed her arm in his grip, pulling her up. She stopped and stumbled towards him in the water, obviously annoyed that he had interrupted her swimming session, "What?" She questioned, more confused than anything else.

He took in a deep breath as he had an internal battle with himself. _Do what you came here to do or just say that you were here to bug her? _He was pretty sure that either option, he was going to get killed or suffer severe injuries. However, he decided that there was only one choice that he would willingly die for.

Carefully, he reached one hand up and pushed her hair back, tracing his fingertips slowly down her jaw bone before placing the hair on the side of her head, tangling his hand in it. Then he slowly leaned down and hesitantly pressed his lips up against hers. She automatically closed her eyes, but was too stunned to know what else to do. Tony was kissing _her. _She felt his hand around her waist as he pulled her closer to him, ramming her hips against his. Finding feeling in her body, she wrapped her arms around his neck and moaned, opening her mouth slightly, allowing him access as she twirled the bottom of his hair with her fingers. His lips were soft and sweet against hers, and at some points she tasted the water that was dripping down each of their faces. But, at that moment, she didn't care. The kiss was gentle and loving as he pulled at her lips with his own.

However, their kiss was cut short by clicks and flashes as well as the sound of people throwing questions in every direction. Ziva pulled back first, but never let go of Tony as they both turned to stare at the press. Ziva sighed and looked down, "They are never going to go away, Tony." She said, trying to tune them out as she turned to look at him, "This is a bad idea."

He just grinned as he leaned towards her, getting ready to kiss her again, "Well then let's give 'em something to write about." She grinned back as he pressed his lips up against hers again, the reporters disappearing from their minds.

Neither one thought of the consequences that would come.

Right now, they were only thinking of each other.


	10. Chapter 10: Deja Vu

**Hey guys! Thanks to all the reviewers! Sorry for the update delay but we've both been super busy. So stick with us if we don't update for a couple of days. :) Hit the little green button when you reach the end and leave us one. :)**

They stayed like that.

They stayed like that for a _while_.

There stood Tony, without a shirt, in the pool, the water about to his chest, kissing _Ziva_. Around the pool, there were photographers and reports snapping pictures every two seconds, not to mention the questions that were being shouted at them. Finally, one question caught Tony's attention.

"What will your boss think about this?" Tony stopped kissing Ziva and snapped his head towards the reporter. She grinned and looked at him, as if he was about to answer her question. Wrong.

"Oohh shit." He said and grabbed Ziva's hand, running as fast as he one could through water. He slipped on the steps a couple of times, but finally managed to get up them as he dragged Ziva behind him. They ran out of the pool, water flying everywhere from Tony's pants and Ziva's bikini. The floor was carpet until they reached the lobby.

Marble.

Great.

Tony continued to run at the same pace. He couldn't help but notice the men in the lobby. Their mouths hung open like a mailbox, even with their wives standing next to them. One of them stood near the desk and took out a cell phone to snap a picture. Tony immediatley turned and ran towards the man, the corner being so sharp it almost caused Ziva to fall.

"Tony, where are you going?!" Ziva yelled from behind him.

"Detour!" He yelled. They reached him and Tony snatched his cell phone and threw it, letting it slide across the marbled floor.

"Hey!" He yelled.

"Have a nice day." Tony said, and then continued for his orginal destination, the elevator. The reporters were not far behind as Tony clicked the 'up' button two hundred times, as if it would make the thing get there faster. "Come on, come on, come on!" It _finally_ dinged, and the doors opened. Tony rushed in and pulled Ziva in, basically pushing out the four other people that were in it. "Ha!" He said as the doors closed in front of the press. He then turned to Ziva and grinned. "Those people are crazy!" He yelled, his voice echoing in the elevator.

Ziva chuckled at him and then leaned against the wall. She felt like she needed to wake up from the dream she was obviously having. Not even 5 minutes ago, _Tony_ was kissing her. In the pool. Holding her close to him.

"Hey...you ok?" He asked. He put his hands on each side of her and leaned against the wall. She smiled.

"I am fine Tony." She said. He leaned down and let his lips brush up against hers. He then pulled her into a hug just as the elevator doors opened again. The millions of camera flashes blinded them as the turned and walked down the hall, towards their room. They both desperatley tried to hide their faces. "Open the door!" Ziva said loudly. Tony then dug in his wet pockets for the key.

Nope. Not there.

He checked his back pockets.

Nope. Not there either.

"Oh damn." He said loudly.

"Tony. Open. The. Door." He looked at her with panic in his eyes.

"I don't have the key!" He said quietly, but Ziva knew exactly what he said.

"You are going to die today!" Ziva said through her teeth. Tony only rolled his eyes, grabbed her hand again, fought through what felt like millions of people, down the hall and to the elevator. He then pressed the 'down' button two hundred times. Once they got on, Ziva let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I can not believe you left the key!"

"You left the key too!" He retaliated.

"Where would I keep it, Tony?" She asked, looking down at her own body. Tony looked her up and down a couple of times. Ziva punched him in the arm. "Get your mind out of the drain, DiNozzo." She threatened.

"Gutter."

"What?" She snapped.

"The phrase is 'get your mind out of the _gutter_. Not drain."

"What is the difference?" She asked.

"Because 'get your mind out of the _drain' _doesn't make sense."

"And 'get your mind out of the gutter' _does_ make sense?"

"Yes." Ziva threw her hands up in the air in defeat.

"Americans." She muttered. Tony started to walk out the elevator when he stopped. He turned and looked at his partner. She was _still_ in a bikini.

"Walk in front of me." He said.

"What? Why?" She asked.

"I don't want those damn...people taking pictures of your caboose." Ziva raised an eyebrow. Tony made her leave the elevator first.

"Why don't you want people to look at my arm?"

"Ziva it's really time for you to learn these words. Caboose is your butt. Booty. Rear end." He laughed. "And that part is only for my looking." Ziva only rolled her eyes and they approached the front desk.

"Hi, yeah, see, I'm Special Agent..." He looked over at the elevator to see some of the reporters storm out and head their way. "No time for pleasantries. Listen, long story short," He pointed at Ziva, "she locked our key in our room and those," he pointed to the crowd of reporters that neared them, "people are driving us nuts. So can you please please please give us another key?" He asked. He looked over at Ziva, who was glaring at him for the 'she locked our key in room' comment. The receptionist had a dazed look on her face.

"Room...number?" She asked slowly.

"817." Ziva answered for him. She put her hand in front of her face again when the reporters reached them. Tony grabbed her arm and pulled her in between himself and the counter. The receptionist finally got their key and Tony nearly ripped her hand off as he snatched it out of her hand.

"Go, go Ziva. Go." He isntructed. They got into the elevator again and the doors closed.

"This is getting rediculous, Tony." Ziva said. Tony nodded in agreement.

"I know. And the worst part is...Gibbs is going to kill us."

About an hour later, they both had showered, changed and were ready for bed. Ziva was already in and under the covers. Tony crawled next to her and pulled her over to him. He gave her a kiss. The kiss quickly deepened, and Ziva wrapped her arms around his neck. Tony began to trail kisses down her neck and started for her shoulders, but _his_ t-shirt was in the way. He went back up to her lips and kissed her again, letting his hand slide down her body and under her shirt. He stopped when he felt her hand on his.

"Tony. We have to be at work in the morning. And I am sure that there are people with their ears on this wall just _waiting_ for sex sounds." Tony laughed, "And I am a screamer...I am sure you have not forgotten."

"Of course not! And _Sex sounds?_ That would make a good movie title." He chuckled and then let out a sigh as he fell back onto his side of the bed. "But you're right." He kissed her again. "Night, Zi." He said.

"Goodnight, Tony."

Tony groaned and woke up to the surprising warmth around him that radiated off of Ziva's body. He was holding her tight, her face rammed up against his chest, yet she looked serene as could be. Her legs were entangled with his, and they were facing each other chest to chest. He smiled and buried his head back into the hair on the top of her head as he, if at all possible, hugged her tighter to him. He smiled, his eyes closed as he relished in the moment. From time to time, he could feel her hands shift from where they had moved up his shirt and were gripping his hot, bare back.

He opened one eye and glanced over at the clock. 0500h. Gibbs was sure to be in by his normal time, 0730h, approximately 30 minutes before their arrival time. If they were to make sure that Gibbs didn't see the tabloid in Ziva's mail that morning, they had to get there before that time...which meant that they had to get up, even though Tony didn't want to wake her.

He sighed and battled with himself over whether or not to just shake her awake or kiss her awake. Definitely option number two. He pulled as far he could away from her, so that he could still hold onto her, but be able to have access to her face, which was still trying to bury itself in his chest. Finally, he carefully placed a finger under her chin and lifted her tired face towards his. He leaned down and so much as brushed his lips against hers before she fluttered her eyes open and stifled a yawn, "Morning!" Tony grinned and Ziva just groaned as she buried her face into his chest. He looked down at her, "Come on, Ziva...wake up." He shook her lightly, and she rolled over so that she was flat on the bed, out of Tony's grip. They both instantly missed the others body, but then quickly got over it, considering that they were officially 'together' now, so they could hug each other and make physical contact whenever they pleased without feeling like the other was going to kill them.

Ziva threw an arm over her eyes, shielding the sun that was peeking through the curtains into their room, "Tony...what time is it?" By this point, he was already standing in front of the bed, pulling out his clothes for the day, his normal work attire...the suit.

"05, Ziva." He responded as he started to undress. She sat up and propped herself up on her elbows.

"Why are we up so early?" She demanded, "We do not need to be at work for at least another three..."

"Ziva." Tony stopped pulling on his pants and leaned slightly towards her, "Tabloid. Gibbs. Move." He said, and then her eyes popped wide as she jumped out of bed and nearly ran towards the bathroom, clothes in hand. Tony smirked.

Around 0600h, they were finally packed, ready, and in the car. On the way out, Tony had insisted that they drive straight to NCIS, not even stopping for Ziva to drop her luggage off at home.

They walked in silence through the parking garage, flashing their badges at the security at the entrance of the elevator. Tony opened up the door and let Ziva in first. She smiled at him as they continued to walk in to the sign in desk.

Three security guards sat behind the desk, most of them...no _all _of them goofing off in some way. Their heads snapped up when they say them approach the desk, and they smiled huge smiles at them, "Hey boys!" The man that was actually sitting at the desk and not standing behind it like the other two, whom Tony believed to be named John and Seth, turned to look. The man sitting at the desk, Adam, smiled, "It's our favorite NCIS agents...or should I say..." He moved towards them, "America's hottest couple." He grinned, and Ziva looked down, a small heat rushing to her cheeks. Tony just flashed him his favorite DiNozzo grin.

"Hand me the sheet, Adam." He motioned for him to hand it over, and Adam picked it up, but didn't hand it to him.

"I've seen you all week." He commented, and Tony and Ziva looked at each other in a slight confusion, "Even though you weren't here!" They leaned back, laughing as they did so. One of the men behind him, to his left, held up the magazine that he was reading.

"Check it." He said, and Tony reached over and snatched it out of his hands, closing it as he brought it over to let Ziva look at it as well. On the front was a picture of them making-out in the pool, and under it, in big white letters, it wrote, in quotes, _'We are NOT together!'_

Ziva just shook her head before muttering in Hebrew under her breath. She ripped the magazine out of his hands and then flipped through it only to find picture after picture after picture of them in there...in fact, she was pretty sure that they made up at least half of the magazine as a whole. Tony looked worriedly at her and then grabbed the clipboard that had the sign in sheet out of his hands, signing both of them in, "Thanks a lot." He muttered at the three security guards who were just grinning.

"No problem." He smiled as Tony went to turn and help her, for she was obviously very frustrated.

"Ziva...." he started, "You okay?"

"No!" She shouted, stopping pacing as she nearly shoved the magazine up into his face, "Do you know how mad Gibbs is going to be when he sees this? He will probably not only fire both of us but send me _back to Israel!_"

The Security guards all stared at each other, each of their faces now painted with worried looks, "Uh oh..." Adam started, "Gibbs...damn that's rough."

"Yeah, yeah!" Seth agreed, speaking up, "One time I was late, and came running in, and I ran right into Gibbs and his coffee spilled everywhere. I don't think I went to bed without having a nightmare about doing that again for a week." He shuddered at the thought as he pointed to his eyes, "Those blue eyes they just..._pierce you! Stab you! _Damn..." he ran a hand through is hair, "Couldn't work for him."

There was a pause or two for a moment before John spoke, "Yeah, you guys need to hurry up." He checked his watch, "Gibbs is due in to report soon...if I were you I'd make sure that all of those tabloids were gone from his sight before he gets here."

"Or else you guys are going to be in _trouble._" Adam nodded, agreeing, "Now go!" They both hurried out of the lobby and into the elevator, pressing the button for the squadroom.

The two walked into the squadroom and realized that there was absolutely no one there. Both breathing a sigh of relief, they walked into the bullpen before their greatest fears were soon realized.

One tabloid was sitting on top of Ziva's desk, on top of her mail stack.

One tabloid was sitting on top of Tony's desk, also on top of his mail stack.

One tabloid was sitting on top of McGee's desk, again, on top of his mail stack.

And, for some strange reason, there were three copies sitting on top of Gibbs desk, no other mail, just three magazines.

Tony and Ziva both shared a look before grabbing the magazines quickly off of the desks, Tony grabbing the ones off of his and McGee's, Ziva grabbing the ones off of Gibbs and her own.

They both let out a sigh of relief, glancing at each other, and then back down at the magazines, "What now?" Ziva asked, and Tony pondered for a moment before grinning and then getting ready to strike a pose when Ziva stopped him, his mouth open, "Not another _stupid _movie quote, Tony, please." She pleaded, closing her eyes and looking down at the ground.

He quickly shut his mouth, "Look around for the rest of the magazines." He said, "Don't want Gibbs walking by someones desk all innocent..." Tony started to walk...or more like strut in front of Gibbs desk, "...and then BAM!" He slapped his hands together as he stopped walking, turning to face her. He pulled up a magazine, "_What's this?" _He asked in his best Gibbs impression, "_Tony and Ziva together? It can't be! What about my rules! Damn it I need coffee! Caffeine! DiNozzo! David! Elevator! NOW!"_

Ziva just glared at him as Tony chuckled, "Tony." She said, firmly, "We need to hurry before Gibbs comes in."

He nodded, serious now, "I understand. You finish off this floor and then check both the evidence garage and Cyber Unit while I finish the squadroom, Director's Office, and Legal Department. We'll meet back in Autopsy," Ziva nodded and then started away, magazines still in hand befor she stopped.

"Tony?" She called, furrowing her eyebrows together.

"Yeah?"

"Why the evidence garage?" She questioned, "And would it not be easier to just go to the mail room and sort through it?"

Tony thought about it for a moment and then nodded, "Do it. And of course check the evidence garage...that'd be the first place Gibbs'd check."

"Why?" She called after him as he continued to walk by the desks on the other end of the squadroom.

"Because it's called the Evidence Garage, Ziva...and there's evidence in there....and if Gibbs wants evidence that we're together...well, sweetheart, where's he gonna check?" He questioned, and she just rolled her eyes.

"Gibbs is not an idiot."

Tony nodded as he pulled a magazine out of a desk, "Yeah, well, he knows me."

"You would hide it in the evidence garage?"

Tony nodded, "Yup. Hid everything there." he laughed a little, "Mostly probie's things." He stood up fully and stared at her, "Get going. We don't have much time."

She simply nodded and then exited the squadroom.

Ziva checked her watch for about the billionth time as she paced in front of the far autopsy slab, the tabloids stacked in a neat pile on top of the slab. She groaned as she checked her watch. Again. She threw her hands up, "Tony where are you?" She muttered. Annoyed, she pulled out her cell phone and went to speed dial his number when the autopsy doors slid open. She automatically moved in front of the tabloids, to cover them up, but then realized it was only Tony.

She relaxed, sighed, and then closed her cell phone before placing it back into her pocket, "You are late." She muttered through gritted teeth. He had come in taking his own sweet time and _whistling. _She shook her head as she snatched the tabloids out of his hands, "Give me those. Where have you been?" She demanded, setting his down on the growing pile on the slab, "We need to figure out someplace to hide these."

"We could burn 'em." He suggested.

She rolled her eyes, "Where?" She held her watch up, "Gibbs is going be here any-" She stopped, her eyes growing wide. Tony looked around as Ziva slowly lowered her hand.

"Ziva?" Tony questioned.

"Shh!" She commanded, turning slowly, as if she was listening. Tony strained to hear.

"Hey whatcha-"

"Shh!" She commanded again, this time louder, "Do you hear that?" She whispered, and Tony shook his head.

"No...you mind telling me what's going on?"

And then Tony heard it. The Scottish accent wasn't hard to miss now, "Ducky sure talks to himself a lot." Tony muttered, and Ziva lightly slapped him as she pointed to the tabloids.

"What are we going to do with this?" She hissed, and Tony let his eyes grow wide.

"Oh crap..." He looked around and then his eyes fell upon one of the body drawers. He pointed to it, "Open it up and we'll shove 'em in."

"Tony..." She sighed, but then realized that Ducky was going to be there any moment.

"Ziva!" Tony shouted, though it was no more than a whisper, and Ziva quickly moved over, opening up the drawer as Tony shoved the tabloids in. She closed it just as Ducky walked in. He flicked on the light and then stopped as he stared at the two.

"Tony? Ziva? What are you doing here?" He questioned. They stared nervously at the two, and Tony smiled, stepping up to the plate first.

"Just enjoying the scenary. Nothing like a good trip to Autopsy in the morning...you know...wake up and smell the decomposing bodies in the morgue!" Tony grinned, nudging Ziva, who just stared at him, as if she couldn't believe he actually said that. She was unable to put a smile on her face.

Even Ducky just stared at him, "Right...my boy...Anthony..." He gave Ziva a look that clearly stated that Tony had lost his mind and then hung up his hat on the hanger, "I saw the ZNN feed that Jethro broadcasted on the screen upstairs...are you all right, my dear?"

Ziva gave Ducky a smile, "I am fine, thank you."

"I am surprised that young Tony here didn't insist on bringing you in..." He turned to him, "You did seem very concerned for her on the stage, at the speech."

Tony just grinned, again, "Yeah, well, thanks, but she's my partner, Ducky. And we kinda gotta go back up to the squadroom, bye Ducky!" and they both quickly left Autopsy, leaving Ducky completely and utterly confused by their sudden interest in the morgue.

He just hoped that he wouldn't find any more leopard print undergarments hidden anywhere in Autopsy.

But then again, Ziva seemed more of a tiger than a leopard to Ducky.

Gibbs acted normally, so Tony guessed that he hadn't seen any tabloids in his normal coffee shop for his normal coffee run in the morning. Ziva hadn't seen anyone walking around with tabloids, and nobody mentioned anything about it or stare at them all day like they believed.

Both Ziva and Tony thought that they were off of the hook until Abby appeared in the squadroom that morning, squealing and jumping up and down.

Ziva stared wide eyed at Tony, "You guys are SOOOO cute!" She squealed, her pigtails flying all over the place. Gibbs looked up at the goth, confused.

"Abs?" He questioned, and Abby proudly walked towards Gibbs desk before shoving the tabloid into his face.

"SO CUTE!" She exclaimed just as Ziva and Tony both reached towards her and screamed out.

"NO!"

But it was too late. Gibbs carefully took it and then put his glasses on before staring at the cover for less than a second. Ziva and Tony both stood up and went to bolt out of there when Gibbs stopped them, "Wait." He calmly said, pulling off his glasses and glaring at them with his icy blue yes. They both froze as they exchanged nervous looks, "The only place you two are going is the elevator....NOW!"


	11. Chapter 11: Relax

_Ding._The elevator doors opened.

Two more people stepped in, giving them both glances as they turned back around.

The elevator doors closed.

Again, Tony and Ziva took the ride down the elevator.

_Ding._The doors opened. The two stepped out and four stepped in.

The doors closed again.

They went up to the squad room, the elevator doors opened.

_Ding. _

All four of them got out. Tony and Ziva sat up straight from where they were leaning against the wall, waiting impatiently for Gibbs. However, when the doors closed again, they groaned and threw their heads back against the wall.

A couple of more times and finally, they saw Gibbs pissed face, his icy blue eyes steel as he stormed into the elevator, punching the button behind him. The doors closed and then Gibbs flicked the emergency stop switch. The lift jolted to a stop as the lights shut down, giving the dark room an eerie blue glow. Tony and Ziva exchanged nervous glances as Gibbs just stared at them and it was only then that Ziva noticed the tabloid that was sticking out of his jacket. She didn't say anything about it, however.

"DiNozzo." He finally said, his tone dark. Gibbs turned towards the senior field agent.

"Look, boss, I don't-"

"Shut up." He said, "Have you remembered anything I taught you?" He demanded and Tony grinned, looking up at the ceiling of the lift, counting, as if the answer was written up there.

He finally looked back down at the boss, "Well I never go anywhere without a knife...I never mess with your coffee cause I don't wanna death sentence....hmm let's see I...I never bother you in interrogation..."

"Oh yeah?" he demanded, taking a step closer towards him. He was _extremely _close to him. Almost too close. his hot breath was in his face, and it smelled deeply of coffee.

"Yeah, I never interrupted you in interrogation...I mean, well," He paused to think, "I don't _think _I have. Though there may have been that one time where-" He was interrupted by a hard slap upside the head. Tony winced and stopped immediately.

"Yeah, you've never broken that rule. But what about rule twelve?" He suddenly shoved a finger at Ziva. On reflex, she backed up a little, but she felt Tony's pinky finger around hers, keeping her next to him. Subconsciously, she moved towards him. That definitely didn't help their situation at all.

"Oh." Was all Tony could think of to say.

"OH?" Gibbs shouted, "OH?! That's all you have to say? Those damn rules were created for a reason!" Even in the tinge, they could tell that his face was getting redder by the second.

Tony sighed, "Look I know I...we...screwed up boss but you gotta understand that..."

And that was when Gibbs ripped out the magazine from inside of his jacket pocket. He held it up, "Screwed up? You two did more than _screw up." _He turned to Ziva, "Ziver, I thought that you were better than this. Come on...it's DiNozzo!" He pointed to her partner. Ziva just gave Tony a helpless look, "And getting the press after you?" He ran a hand through his hair, "Both of you need-"

And that was it.

Tony had had enough.

He stepped in front of Ziva, as if he was protecting her from Gibbs, "Boss." He firmly said, "I don't understand why the press are after us, nor do I understand why you're blaming this on Ziva. If you must know..." He paused and took a deep breath, "I kissed her." Ziva felt the blood rush to her cheeks again, and she watched as Tony was greeted by another slap to the back of the head.

"You knew the press was there!" He shouted, "I know that you knew."

"No we didn't...how did you..." He glared at him as Gibbs opened up the magazine and flipped through a couple of pages. He squinted down at it, holding the magazine forward and then back as he read.

"As the two continued to make-out in the pool, after Agent DiNozzo clearly stated that they weren't together, they refused to answer questions. However, they did answer one, which consisted of the following: 'What will your boss think of this?'" Tony and Ziva looked at each other, "At this point, they stopped and DiNozzo answered 'Oh Shit.' before they both sprinted out of the pool." Gibbs closed the magazine, "DiNozzo you..."

"I understand." Ziva nodded, speaking up for the first time, cutting Gibbs off. Tony turned to look at her, as if he was surprised that she knew how to talk let alone that she was actually there.

Tony sighed and looked down at the ground, "I would apologize boss but..."

"I know." He finished, holding up the magazine for DiNozzo to see. Tony almost scoffed. As if he hadn't seen _that _before, "You two _fix this." _He pointed to the front, "Get those damn press off of your asses. Then," He pointed between the two, "I'll deal with this." He said before flicking the emergency switch again. The elevator promptly opened its doors, and Gibbs walked out.

Tony and Ziva just let the doors close on them once again, and Tony had the sinking feeling that Gibbs was just about to do the same thing with their relationship.

* * *

They excited the elevator, Tony and Ziva glancing at each other nervously as they followed Gibbs back to the squad room. They sat down at their desks as Gibbs answered his cell phone. McGee looked over at Tony.

"Something I can help you with, McStare?" Tony snapped without looking at him. McGee simply turned his attention back to his computer. The place was quiet except for Gibbs chatting on the phone.

"Grab your gear. McGee!" Gibbs suddenly said, making the probationary field agent jump slightly. He looked at the boss and caught the keys that were flying at him. "Gas the truck. Let's go. Tony and Ziva quickly grabbed their backpacks and weapons out of the drawer. They both jumped in just as the doors closed. It was quiet until Gibbs spoke again. "Before you ask, DiNozzo, there aren't any balloons." All three agents raised an eyebrow.

They arrived at the crime scene and began to collect evidence.

"This is...deja vu." Ziva stared at the 2007 red mustang that was blown to smithereens, with the body that was identified as a marine still sitting inside. McGee walked away from them and began to sketch the scene, while Gibbs stood and talked to one of the MP's. Tony walked ahead of Ziva, who kept taking in deep breaths. Tony looked up at her, she was staring at him.

Again.

"Zi...you okay?" Ziva simply nodded.

"I am fine." She lied. It was just like Tony's incident. A mustang. The victim was still in the car. On the same street. She looked up again. She felt her heart race. "Tony!" She almost yelled, causing everyone on the scene to look up at her. Tony stood up from his squatted position from behind the car.

"Yes?" He asked casually. Thankfully, that made the other people return to their work, which allowed Tony to causally walk over to Ziva.

"Ziva...what is wrong with you?" She breathed again.

"Tony. This is not a dowinkiquink." Tony raised an eyebrow.

"No, I think you mean..."

"A blown up mustang with the victim still inside on the same street that you were on?" Tony chuckled.

"I thought it was kind of cool." He shrugged. Ziva scoffed and walked away from him, but he followed her. "Ziva...come on. You better get to work. Ducky and Palmer still aren't here and Gibbs is already pissed. He'll be more pissed if evidence isn't bagged and tagged." Ziva rolled her eyes and walked back over to the scene. She began to work, but still looked at him, just to make sure he was still there, every ten or fifteen seconds.

"Sorry we're late, Jethro. There seems to be an unusual interest in this crime scene." Gibbs shook his head.

"It's not the crime scene, Duck. It's 'America's Hottest Couple'." Ducky looked over at Tony and Ziva. "Ah." He quickly changed the subject. "This looks familiar." He said, in reference to the scene.

"TOD Duck?"

"Jethro I won't know much of anything until I get him back. I can tell you the cause of death, though." Ducky groaned as he looked at the crispy body. "Well, not much more we can do. The gurney, please, Mr. Palmer?" Ducky asked.

"Yes, Doctor." The doctor then walked to the other side of the car and pulled his tweezers out of his pocket.

"Ziva, could you please bag this?" He asked her. Not hearing a response, he looked over at her. "Ziva!" He said, snapping her out of the trance she was in.

"Yes, Ducky?" She asked.

"Evidence." He simply said. Ziva picked up a bag and walked over to him, allowing him to drop it into the bag. "Are you alright my dear?" Ziva looked over at him.

"I am fine, Ducky." She replied. Ducky looked at her. "There is no such thing as coincidences." Ziva nodded at him and then walked over to the truck, checking again on Tony. She found McGee who was talking to Gibbs and pointing towards the police rolled her eyes and walked over to him.

"Boss, do you want me...to uh...take pictures? I don't know how many DiNozzo got since he...is busy." Gibbs then stormed off towards his two agents.

"Tony what are you doing?" Ziva asked. She then heard them.

It wasn't just the press.

But there were _fans. _People, mostly young girls, stood at the police tape with the magazine with Tony and Ziva's picture on it.

Things were being screamed at them.

_We love you two!_

_Kiss her for us! _Tony shared a look with Ziva.

"Should we demonstrate?" Ziva narrowed her eyes at him. He then took a marker from one of them, when it was snatched out of his hand by Gibbs, who then proceded to whack Tony on the back of the head.

"The only thing you'll be demonstrating is how to recieve a check from the un-employment office. Let's go, DiNozzo." He said. Tony mouthed 'sorry' to the "fans" and followed Gibbs and Ziva back to the truck.

"You're dead, McGee." Tony muttered. "Sorry about that boss, I just..."

"DiNozzo, I said to get them off of your ass. Not make it worse." Gibbs snapped.

* * *

The case hadn't gone anywhere. Abby still hadn't found what caused the explosion, and Ducky couldn't establish a time of death. The car was stolen, and the Marine, Gunny Chris Jones, had no wife, no family, nobody. All living relatives were dead. This case was a puzzle, and none of them had the corner peice.

It was almost 2200h when Gibbs returned to the squad room, after visiting Abby and Ducky _again. _He sat down at his desk and then stood up again, causing his team to look at him.

"Go home." He demanded. Tony let out a sigh and then quickly stood up.

"Goodnight, boss!" He said happily and trotted towards the elevator.

Ziva herself was relieved when she reached her apartment. She was especially tired that night, she didn't know if it was from stashing tabloids from Gibbs, the crime scene, or avoiding Tony after the comment he made. She didn't think it was 'cool'. She scoffed, changed quickly from her clothes and pulled up her hair. She crawled in her bed and closed her eyes, only to open them 10 minutes later. She turned over and tried again.

Nope.

Another 20 minutes.

Nope.

She was restless, but she didn't understand why. She turned over again. She then turned on her back and stared at the ceiling for 30 more minutes. She reached for her cell phone that sat on her side table, but then instantly put it back down.

_No, Ziva. He's fine. And you've slept without him before. _

Laying there another 20 minutes did nothing for her, so she gave up and dialed his number. She regretted her decision when she heard his groggry voice on the other line.

"_Hello?"_ He said, with an added yawn on the end.

"Tony. Are you...okay?" She asked.

_"Yeah Zi, I'm fine. Why, what's wrong? Are you ok?" _

"I am fine. I just...can not sleep." She admitted. She let out a sigh.

_"Come over."_ He simply said, and then hung up the phone. She brought it away from her ear and stared at it strangely before letting the small smile crawl onto her face as she jumped out of bed, slipped on some shoes, grabbed her keys, and then headed out of the door.

She arrived in front of Tony's apartment in less than ten minutes, in fact, the exact time was 6 minutes and 34 seconds. She didn't even bother knocking, she just picked the lock and then headed into his apartment. She didn't turn on the light either as she closed the door behind her, "Tony?" She called out, and then the light was suddenly turned on.

On instinct, she put her hand over her eyes and stared at her partner, who was standing in the doorway that led to his bedroom, "There you are." He said, rubbing his eyelids as he turned around, yawning, "Come on." He motioned for her to follow him, and she walked towards him. He shuffled across the floor, his back slightly hunched over.

"I...am sorry, Tony..." She started, and he just waved his hand, as if it wasn't a big deal.

"You think I'd say no to having a hot woman like you sleeping in my bed with me?" he scoffed, "Even if I was dead, I don't think I'd pass that option."

She let the faintest smile cross over her face as she watched him crawl into bed and under the covers. She just stared at him.

"You gonna get over here or not?" He asked, and she just smiled again as she crawled under the covers next to him. She adjusted the blanket over her, with Tony's help as well before finally getting comfortable. She sighed as she stared at him. They were facing each other, chest to chest, in the very center of the bed.

She watched as his eyelids started to get heavy and droop down over his eyes. Just watching him get tired made her tired herself. Her eyes closed for about a second or two, and then opened them up again just in time to watch Tony lean in and press his lips against hers. He let them linger for a moment before pulling back right as she was about to deepen the kiss, "Goodnight, Zi." He said, moving so that he was lying on his back. She rested her head on his chest as she closed her eyes.

"Goodnight, Tony..." She muttered as she closed her eyes. Sleep came instantly.

_"Got the feed going, McGee?" Gibbs asked as he paced around MTAC, the headset dangling around his neck._"TONY!" She shouted as she sat up straight in bed, panting slightly as she felt his warm body heat against her as he sat up as well.

"Just about, boss. Processing the data now." She watched as McGee typed faster on his keyboard. Finally, the rainbow bars went away and the traffic cam was placed onto the screen instead.

"DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked, and McGee moved the camera.

"Here." He said as they watched Tony climb into his Mustang and then start the engine. He drove off of the screen.

"Follow him." Gibbs demanded, and McGee pressed a couple more buttons, the screen changing as he did so. Ziva just stared at the screen. Why wasn't he at work? It didn't make sense. What was more important then...

And then the car immediately burst into flames and Ziva fought the loss of breath in her lungs.

Tony groaned, "Ziva..." He sighed, "Not again..." She turned to face him, her eyes filled with fear. For _him. _"I didn't get shot this time, did I, Ziva?" He questioned, taking it slow now. It was fairly obvious that the woman was having trouble...it had been obvious the entire day in fact. He should have been ready for this. He briefly wondered just how many nightmares she had before they got the job in being the President's secret service agents. And his heart was stricken at the thought. In an attempt to calm her, he kneaded the lower portion of her back, right where her black sweat pants stopped.

"No....you....got blown up. In your car. Just like when you were with...." She paused. No sense in making him relive a terrible memory by saying her name, "her." She finally decided. She hung her head, almost defeated. She hated herself. Why was she acting this way? She honestly didn't know. Tony sighed as he let his hand move slightly up her back.

"Ziva..." He purred, "It's okay." He said, "Trust me. I'm just fine. Nothing's going to happen-"

"How can you say that?" She demanded as he let his hand continue up her back, slowly, "Tony, our jobs are dangerous. Any day you could be killed." She said, "And you have avoided death more than once before. The plague...your car....three is the charm, yes?" She demanded as he finally made it up her entire back. He ran his hand down her side, and she trembled under his touch.

"Well then, I guess we have to do this now...if we may die tomorrow." He said, "Trust me....I'm all right." He grinned, leaning towards her as he brushed his nose up against hers. She sucked in her breath as his lips met hers. Subconsciously, she let out a moan, which was Tony's cue to deepen the kiss. He grabbed onto the back of her head and tangled his hand in her hair, manuevering his fingers through the hair tie that had pulled her hair back into a bun. He flicked it across the room, her dark locks tumbling down her back. He took the lead and started moving her so that she was lying down on the bed and he was hovering overtop of her.

His lips not leavig her skin, he started trailing kisses down her neck and shoulder, sucking lightly on both of them as she gasped, "Tony..." He looped a finger through the spaghetti straps of her tank, his finger tracing her arm as he pulled both of the straps down at the same time. He felt her hands roam under his shirt, running her delicate fingers over the muscles in his back as she pulled the shirt over his head in one fluid motion.

Tony moved his lips back to hers, hungrily grasping at them, wanting more as he felt her tug at his sweats. They came down easily and he stepped out of them, kicking them off of the bed as he too pulled her sweats down as well.

Once both completely naked, Tony stopped kissing her and stared down into her eyes, "Ziva..."

She gave him a closed smile, "I know..." She pressed her lips up against his, letting them linger for about a second or two, "You are fine."

He grinned and then kissed her again, it deepening as they tangled themselves into the other's embrace, where they would stay for the rest of the night.

* * *

101 degrees.

That's how hot the thermometer said it was. The man behind the mahogany desk wiped his brow with his handkerchief before returning to bundles of transfers, transactions, and policies that he needed to sign.

Just as he was about to pick up his pen, he heard a knock on the door, "_Come in._" He said, and the door opened, revealing Officer Abijah. He pulled off his glasses and greeted the man.

"_Director David_." He said, "_Package from Washington DC. Director Vance himself sent it, priority overnight express. Said it was urgent, sir." _He responded in fluent Hebrew as he handed Eli David the manila envelope.

He took it and nodded, "_Thank you, Officer Abijah." _He simply nodded, bid him farewell, and then started out of the office.

Eli tore the seal of the envelope labeled URGENT and then opened it up, pulling out a magazine. Confused, he put on his glasses and then turned it over before eyeing the cover. He barely looked at it before nearly chucking it across the room. He simply tossed it, the magazine flying off of his desk by the simple flick as he sat back, ripping off his glasses, "_Harah, Ziva!" _

**Okay so..."Harah" in Hebrew is "Shit". We hope you enjoyed the chapter. :) Leave us one. We love reviews!**


	12. Chapter 12: Gone

Ziva woke up from the sunlight that shined on her face, which was definitely not her usual way of waking up. She closed her eyes and then opened them again, carefully turning her head so that she could see Tony. She studied him and then smiled.

The sheet was loosely over his naked body and one arm laid lazily over her own body, while the other supported his head. She lay there and looked at him for a while. And then it hit her.

Work.

And the sun was up.

So that meant they were late.

Gibbs. Was. Going. To. Freak.

But she _still_ didn't want to wake him. Sighing, she assumed that she had to, or they both would be taking a trip to the un-employment office. She cleared her throat and then shook him gently.

"Tony." She whispered. His only response was to tighten his grip on her, pulling her naked body next to his. Ziva's heart flared.

God, he smelled good. She let out a sigh again and shook him harder, her voice at a normal level now.

"Tony." She said again. He still didn't budge. Ziva slipped out from under him and got off of the bed.

That got his attention.

He furrowed his eyebrows together and watched her as she walked around the bed. "Where are you going?" He groggily asked.

"To get ready for work, Tony." She let out a sigh. "We are late." Tony rubbed his face with his hands and then turned over to his alarm clock. He blinked and focused on it. 0946h.

"Ohh Shit." He said and quickly got out of the bed. He watched Ziva dress and then grinned, "You wear me out." Ziva only rolled her eyes and walked past him, pecking him on the lips as she walked by.

"I am going home to change." She said. He then grabbed her arm and pulled her back, placing a passionate kiss on her lips. "Tony, we are already late." She said, breaking away from him. She kissed him again and grabbed her keys on the way out. She got into her mini, cranked it up and drove off, not aware of the black van that sat across the street that contained her worst nightmare.

Not 20 minutes later, Tony exited his apartment and then was swarmed with the press, photographers, camera's, TV reporters and magazine reporters. He stopped and grinned at them, which only resulted in more camera flashes. Several things were being shouted at him, but one of the questions caught his attention.

"Agent DiNozzo! Are you and Officer David living together?" He grinned even more.

"No, Officer David and I are not living together." When he cooperated, they became quiet, only asking him one question at a time.

"Are you planning on proposing to her soon?" He chuckled nervously and ran a hand through his hair.

"No, right now we're just..." He stopped and thought, "enjoying each other's company."

"How long have you known her?"

"Uh... 3 years. Almost 4."

"How did you meet?" He grinned and laughed.

"Well I was...on the phone...and she asked me...well." He laughed again. "Phone sex was mentioned."

"Agent DiNozzo, how did you feel when Ziva jumped in front of the president and was shot?" He quickly lost his smile.

"I've got to get to work." He abruptly said and walked past them. He got into his car and quickly drove off.

Arriving at the squad room, Tony tossed his book bag and put his weapon in the drawer. Ziva looked up at him, then at Gibbs, and then back at Tony. Gibbs stood up and walked over to the senior field agent and slammed papers on his desk.

"Nice of you to join us, DiNozzo. You and Officer David. Interrogation. Now." He demanded. Tony stood up and quickly followed his boss, the papers in his hand.

"Boss, come on we were just late and..." He stopped and groaned as a hard slap was placed on the back of his head.

"The suspect, DiNozzo." Gibbs replied. Tony then grinned and opened the folder, only to reveal a file.

"Oh, right. Yeah. So you're not firing us?"

"Not yet." Gibbs replied and walked ahead of them to observation.

Tony shared a look with Ziva, who just nodded her head towards the door, and he opened it, stepping away as he let her in first. She walked into interrogation and sat down in the seat. Tony glared at the man that was sitting rather nervously at the table, twiddling his thumbs together as he watched the two. Ziva waited for her partner to grab the other chair and then sit down next to her, backwards in the seat. He let out a sigh as he put the file onto the table and opened it up, flipping through a couple of pages.

"So....Staff Sergeant Paul Wakefield, right?" He just nodded his head.

"Great!" Tony exclaimed, leaning forward, across the notes, "So...umm...tell me about....Gunny Chris Jones." He grinned, and Ziva took the opportunity to slyly move the notes out from underneath Tony's arm.

"What's there to tell?" He asked, scoffing a little, "Guy pretty much kept to himself. Never really communicated with anyone."

Tony raised an eyebrow, "Never really communicated with anyone? Never _really_...meaning that he communicated with someone." Tony adjusted himself so that one arm was propped up onto the table, his hand against his cheek as he shrugged, "That someone you?"

He looked around a little and then laughed, "Well yeah! I mean, I was his head commander in training courses. Of course I talked to him. Never answered back most of the time. Just yes or no sir and then he went about his duty." He put his hands up in the air, "Chris kept to himself, all right? I mean, what's this about? Chris is trouble or anything?"

Ziva spoke up, "Jones is dead, Sergeant." His eyes grew wide, "His car was blown up."

"Anyone have access to plastic explosives?" Tony asked as Sergeant Wakefield leaned back in his seat.

"Shit." He muttered, running his hand across his face, "I can't believe this happened." He said, "Always was polite, even though he didn't talk much."

"Was he more advanced than the rest of the men?" Ziva questioned, leaning forward a little, her arm brushing up against Tony's. They both felt the electricity and moved quickly away from him, stealing the shortest glance in his direction before glancing back at Sergeant Wakefield.

"He would...sometimes...show strength in some areas."

"Any enemies?" Tony asked, and Paul shook his head.

"Not that I knew of. Like I said, he kept to himself." Tony groaned. Of course.

"Jealous ex-girlfriend?" He asked, stealing a glance and a smirk at Ziva. She just narrowed her eyes at him shook her head. Paul slightly smiled.

"Hey!" He suddenly exclaimed, pointing a finger between the two, "Speaking of girlfriends...aren't you two on the cover of that tabloid?" He smiled, and that was when Ziva quickly stood up and leaned over the table, grabbing his shirt in her hands, pulling him towards her.

"You mind staying out of our lives?" She demanded, "Trust me," She lowered her voice and gave him an evil smirk, "There are some things that those tabloids keep out. I would be honored to show them to you..."

"Whoa!" Tony stood up as well, grabbing onto each of her shoulders and pulling her back, "Calm down, Ziva." He demanded, but she just shoved him away.

"No!" She shouted, "This is ruining our lives, Tony, do you not understand? We will be forever known as America's Hottest Couple!" She shouted at him.

"Hey! Look Ziva, I..." but he was cut off by her.

"I do not _care _if you are in love with this attention, but you do realize what is going to happen if someone life, say, my father, finds out about this, yes?"

Tony furrowed his eyebrows together and put his arms wide, "What the hell does that have to do with anything?"

"When assassins are found out, Tony, we are _exterminated._"

Tony gulped and immediately stopped. Sergeant Tim Wakefield just stared between the two, his mouth slightly agape, "Hold on....you're an assassin?" Ziva barely noticed his presence as she looked down at him right as the interrogation door opened up, revealing a pissed Gibbs. He looked even more pissed than before....if that was even possible.

"DiNozzo." His voice was low and sinister, "David. Out here. Now." Ziva glared at Tony as she snatched up the file and brushed past him out of interrogation. Gibbs closed the door behind the two, yet his back was turned towards them. He turned slowly, tapping his pen in his hand as he did so. His icy blue eyes could have killed them on the spot if they had the ability to, "What. The _hell. _Was that?"

Tony and Ziva just flopped their mouths open and closed as Gibbs nodded, "That's what I thought." He snatched the file out of Ziva's hands, "You two." He pointed towards the elevator, "Off the case." They just stared at each other, and then at Gibbs, completely and utterly confused.

"Excuse me?" Tony demanded, his mouth staying open a little longer than necessary.

"You heard me, DiNozzo...OFF THE CASE. NOW." He pointed towards the elevator again before storming past them, muttering angrily to himself, "Damn it, I need coffee."

* * *

After the silent walk to the elevator and the silent elevator ride, they arrived at the front doors.

The security guards were standing there, holding the doors shut as the press had their faces planted against the glass, trying to get in. Ziva walked ahead of her partner and opened the doors, fighting her way through. Tony quickly followed.

He couldn't even see Ziva from the camera flashes that were in his face. All he heard was his name and then some words after it, as if they were questions. He looked up when he heard tires squealing and many reporters screaming as they were almost ran over by the Israeli. He finally made it to his own car and then to had to fight to get his door closed as several people held it open to scream more questions at him. Tony let out a deep sigh and beeped the horn several times, in an attempt to move them out of the way. He finally decided to move forward a little, and then finally made his way out of the garage, and out of the navy yard.

The next morning, Tony sat in his car. He knew he was at the navy yard, in the garage. But he didn't know what time it was, and he didn't know how long he'd been sitting there.

He assumed that his original plan was to avoid the press by getting there before them. And it worked. No press.

In his passenger seat sat several cups of coffee, some full, some empty. He tilted another one up in the air.

Gone.

He picked up another cup and took a sip, and then rubbed his eyes. He wasn't hung over.

He was exhausted. He laid in his bed for several hours, just staring at the ceiling. That's when he had the master plan.

Coffee.

And lots of it. He opened up his console and pulled out his aspirin bottle. He took two of them. He picked up each of the cups in his car; 5 of them were empty, one was full, plus the one he had in his hand. 7 cups of coffee in an attempt to wake himself up.

He scoffed at himself and picked up the two cups. He got out of the car and began to walk towards the building.

Ziva parked in the garage this time _away _from Tony's car. She pulled out her rarely used compact and applied powder under her eyes. She rolled her eyes at herself and got out of her car, walking quickly towards the building. She was met by only two press people, who asked her several questions as she entered the building.

Unbeknown to both of them, a photographer sat in the garage, taking their pictures. "Yeah. I've got one popping drugs and the other putting on make-up. From where he hit her. Yeah. You'll have them in 10."

* * *

As Tony and Ziva walked into the squadroom at separate times, Gibbs greeted them, "Why are you two here?"

Of course, it was a _friendly _greeting, "We...work here, boss." Tony responded, yet neither of them moved from where they stood in the middle of the bullpen.

"Yeah, I know, and it won't be for long if you don't get out of here. I told you, you're off the case until you two know how to handle yourselves around not only each other but the rest of the damn population of the world." Tony and Ziva both sighed before turning around to start heading back out of the squadroom when Gibbs stopped them, "Oh. And next time you want a hiding place? Don't choose Ducky's body coolers, got it?" Ziva looked down at the ground as Tony just nodded as Gibbs looked back down at his desk.

Tony watched as McGee smirked, and he maturely stuck his tongue out at him before slipping into the elevator, right as the doors were ready to close shut.  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Once again, as they walked into the garage, they were greeted by photographers and interviews, both cameras and video cameras shoved up into both of their faces.

They both promptly stopped, for they were rendered from being able to go anywhere at all. Ziva blinked so many times that she honestly thought she was truly going to pass out. She felt her life flashing before her eyes, literally.

"Agent DiNozzo! Officer David!" The reporters shouted at them, shoving microphones into their faces, "Are you two speaking?"

Tony furrowed his eyebrows together. Where had they heard that from? Not that it wasn't true...but they must have ears everywhere... "No." Tony simply said, and the reporters inched closer. Ziva closed her eyes and looked down at the ground, forcing herself to act calm as well as keep down the raging desire she had to punch every single one of them out.

More questions were being shouted at them in a rush before a short second or two of silence for them to answer, "Can you expand on what brought you two into this state?"

"Not speaking?" Tony asked, and they nodded their heads furiously. He looked down at Ziva, "I...I don't think that it's really necessary. Also considering that I don't really know." He shrugged his shoulders. Ziva pinched the bridge of her nose. The questions all of a sudden became a big roaring in her ears and her vision became blurry due to the camera flashes and the bright lights.

The reporters shouted another question, "What caused this silence?"

Tony opened his mouth to respond when Ziva suddenly snapped her head up, "Tony." She firmly said, turning towards him. The entire garage became deathly quiet as he turned to look at her, staring her deep into her chocolate brown eyes that were quivering with fear in her sockets. She didn't want to do it, but she _had _to do it, "I cannot do this anymore." She admitted, softly, "We are done, Tony...." She took in a deep breath as she let her eyes linger downward, away from his face, "Shalom." She whispered before disappearing through the press.

Once she was gone, the reporters swarmed Tony, but he just stared after her, oblivious to the questions around him, for they were all just a blur to him anyways.


	13. Chapter 13: Elevator

Tony parked at the coffee shop again. After another sleepless night, he knew he'd need 8 or 9 cups today. He got funny looks from the probie, the boss, and Ziva after going to the bathroom every five minutes.

He turned off the car and rubbed his eyes. Ziva's words continued to run through his head.

_I cannot do this anymore. We are done, Tony._

He couldn't believe it. Normally, a girl telling him that they were 'done' after two days wouldn't bother him.

But this wasn't just a girl.

It was _Ziva_. And he'd waited almost four years for her.

He let out a sigh and got out of his car.

"Hey...Eight cups of coffee, please." The waitress behind the counter smiled at him.

"Buying for the office again?" Tony half smiled at her.

"Yeah." He replied. He payed her and then walked over to the newspaper stand and looked across them. Every single one of them had either his picture, Ziva's picture or both of them. He rolled his eyes and looked at the worker again. She was still working on his coffee's. He turned back to them and begin to study them a little more.

Several of them were insane. One suggested that Ziva was cheating on him.

Another said that Gibbs had fired her. Tony scoffed and read the next one.

He blinked.

There, on the magazine was a picture of him and a picture of Ziva. He snatched it out of the stand and read it.

_Tony and Ziva break up news! Tony doing drugs and beating on Ziva!_

Tony recognized the picture of him as yesterday, when he took aspirin in his car. He felt his mouth drop. He looked at Ziva's picture. She, too, was in her car, and she was applying make-up just under her eyes.

"Damn it!" He said aloud.

"Sir? Your coffee's are ready." She called. He slammed the copy of '_National Enquirer_' on the counter.

"I'll take this too." He said. She nodded and rang it up.

"I thought I recognized you!" She said. "You're the guy, who's with..." She pointed to the magazine, "...her!" She looked down at the magazine. "Or..._was_ with, I guess." Tony had to stop himself from lunging at her. He payed for the magazine and put it under his arm, and then picked up the two carrier's of the coffee.

"Thanks." He said through his teeth. He sat down in his car and slammed the door. This truly was getting out of hand.

He drove to NCIS and his car was immediately swarmed with reporters. When he finally got to his parking space, he saw that his partner was already there and exiting her vehicle.

Well, _trying_ to exit her vehicle. There were as many reporters, if not more, surrounding her vehicle. He looked down at the coffee's and knew that they'd be all over his suit by the time he got in there. It was no use. He got out of his car and shielded his eyes from the camera flashes.

Walking to the building, he watched Ziva. He could tell that she was getting more aggravated by the second, and was about to kill them with the SIG that was on her hip.

Questions were being screamed at him, but he wasn't listening. He kept his attention on Ziva. Tony watched a guy, who was about 6'2 and 270 lbs, Tony guessed, that was staring at her. He didn't have a camera, a recorder, a notepad, or anything. So he wasn't a reporter. That meant that he was a fan. Ziva continued to walk, trying to ignore the questions that were being yelled at her.

_"Officer David, have you spoken to Agent DiNozzo since you broke up with him?!" _

She had to stop when this guy stepped in front of her. She tried to move around him, but he kept in her path.

"Move." She said.

"You are the most beautiful woman I've ever seen." He replied.

"Move." She demanded again. He then put his hand on her arm and gripped it tight. Ziva tried to pry her arm out of his grip, but she couldn't. "Let go of me!" She yelled. Reporters still swarmed her and flashes blinded her. He began to drag her the other way, towards Tony.

Tony tore through the reporters and approached the man. "Let go of her." He said loudly.

"And if I don't?" Tony sarcastically laughed.

"Let go of her." He said again. The man started to walk again. Tony stopped him and put his right hand on his SIG. "I'm gonna tell you one more time. Let. Go. Of. Her." Tony looked down at Ziva, who was steadily trying to free her arm. The guy only smiled and started to pass Tony again, never letting his grip on Ziva's arm subside. Tony balled his fist up and punched him as hard as he could. He fell to the ground. "Ziva, let's go."

Tony then put his hand on the small of her back and walked, quickly, to the doors. The entered the building and recieved looks from the security that was standing there. "Lock down the building. Nobody comes in here." Tony demanded. He then looked at Ziva. "You ok?" He looked at the red hand print on her arm.

"I am fine." Ziva replied quickly. Tony nodded and slid his card, and then let the elevator scan his eye. Ziva slid her card and followed him, slipping on the elevator just as the doors closed. "Tony..." He looked at her, "...thank you." Tony smiled slightly.

"No problem. But, I have to ask, why didn't you just shoot him?"

"He had my right arm. He was very strong. There was no way I could even..." Ziva stopped and let out a sigh, as if she was angry at herself. "Never mind. Just...thank you." Tony sighed and flipped the emergency switch. He stood in front of her, dangerously close to her face, looking her directly in the eyes.

"Ziva can we talk...about...us?" Ziva stared back at him, then reached around him and flipped the switch again.

"No, Tony. There is no us. There is you, and there is me." She said. The elevator doors opened. She walked around him and left the elevator. Tony shook his head and then finally followed her.

She immediately threw her stuff down and then buried herself in her work,tuning out the world around her. Tony stared at her in a peculiar way, and then glanced over at McGee, who was just sitting at his desk, typing away at his computer, "McGee." He suddenly called, snapping his fingers and pointing next to him, his eyes never leaving Ziva, "Here. Now." McGee furrowed his eyebrows together and then started towards Tony.

"What do you want?" He demanded and then Tony promptly left the squadroom. McGee sighed and then stared after him.

"McGee!" Tony shouted, and Tim broke into a little jog as he followed him in Tony's normal meeting place...behind the stairs. Tony looked around to make sure that no one was around, "Okay, look McAuthor." His voice was nearly a whisper as he nervously tugged at his tie, "I went to get coffee this morning, and..." He sighed and looked up at the ceiling, groaning, "I can't believe I'm doing this..."

"Doing what?" McGee cautiously asked, and Tony just glared at him before reaching into his suit pocket and pulling out the tabloid he had folded in half. He held it up and he watched as McGee's eyes grew wide.

He carefully took it from him, "Tony is this true?!" He shouted, and Tony promptly whacked him upside the head.

"Of course not, McGullible!" He then shoved his finger towards the squadroom, "And Ziva refuses to talk to me."

"Yeah, I can read that..." He responded, flipping through the magazine in shock.

"Look," Tony walked closer towards him, hushing his voice even more, "And the worst part is that I came into work today, you know, parked my car, and then I saw Ziva with this like Macho Man Fan..." Tony laughed, "That rhymes!" He exclaimed, "Anyways." He suddenly became serious again, "And he was pulling at her and she _didn't do anything." _

McGee looked up from the magazine and let his jaw drop a little, "She didn't _do _anything?"

"I know. I was weirded out too." Tony agreed, looking through the bars of the staircase where Ziva stared down at her desk. He tilted his head to look at her in a better angle, "She look okay to you?" He asked, "Maybe she's sick..." McGee just glanced at Ziva through the bars.

"Tired." Was all he said before turning back towards the magazine.

And suddenly, something clicked in Tony's head that made him even smirk a little, "She's tired." He repeated, and McGee just glanced up at him.

"Uh...yeah..."

"Great!" Tony grinned, and then placed a hand on McGee's shoulder, shaking him, "Thanks, probie!"

McGee just nodded, a little unsure, "Yeah....anytime." He responded before turning back to the magazine. He then looked back up at Tony, "Can I keep the magazine?"

Tony scoffed, "Yeah, and you can handle my fan mail." He sarcastically said, "Give me that!" He exclaimed before ripping it out of his hands and then starting back into the squadroom. McGee just shook his head and then started towards the back elevator, grinning. _Just wait till Abby finds out. _

* * *

Ziva was suddenly met with a firm hand on her arm, pulling her up and out of her seat. She came face to face with her partner, her best friend, her ex-lover. The last description made her heart sink and her already tired eyes droop even lower, "What?" She questioned.

"Elevator. With me. Now." he held up the magazine and shook it, "We need to talk."

She groaned, "Tony, not now...I..." She looked up into his eyes and then nodded, for they were burning into her, "Fine." She spat, "But hurry up." He just pulled her arm and jumped into the elevator right as Gibbs walked into the squadroom, demanding the whereabouts of Tony, Ziva, and McGee.

* * *

The elevator shuddered to a squeaky halt as the lights faded and blueish lights came on instead. Ziva rubbed her eyes with her hand and then quickly dropped it as Tony turned around and nearly threw the magazine at her. She barely caught it as he continued to pace angrily in front of her, muttering things under his breath that she couldn't hear.

She furrowed her eyebrows together at Tony and then looked down at the cover, her eyes growing wide, "_A __broch_!" She shouted in Hebrew, "_Red __li__me'agav__!_"

Tony obviously didn't understand what she was saying, and he furrowed his eyebrows together but never stopped walking as she spoke, unsure of what to say, "This is..."

"Bull shit?" Tony finished for her, ripping the magazine out of her hands again, "Damn it, I know, Ziva."

She then had a hurt look on her face as Tony threw the magazine back at her. She snapped her eyes up to him, "You are taking drugs?" She asked, concern definite in her voice. He suddenly stopped and turned to look at her.

"What?"

"I know that you are not beating me, Tony, you are too much of a good person to hurt any woman no matter who they are..." Tony scoffed, "but..." She stared down at the cover and then back up at him, "Tony I did not want to break up with you, do not go to such extremes." She started towards him, but was taken aback when he started towards her. She immediately backed up.

"You're meaning to tell me...." He growled, "That you never wanted to break up with me in the first place?!" He demanded, running her into the wall. He placed both of his hands on the side of her, his fingers digging into the cold, smooth metal of the lift.

She pressed her hands up against his chest, shoving him lightly away. He just shoved her back, "Tony." She firmly said, "Let me go."

"No." He growled, "You aren't going anywhere." He muttered angrily, "You're going to answer a few questions... _Da__-__veed__." _His eyes were dark, and she moved again, after rolling her eyes, but Tony moved with her, cornering her.

"Tony!" She shouted, "Move! I do not want to hurt you!"

"Well you already did!" He fought back, and she leaned back and furrowed her eyebrows together.

"I have not touched you!" She protested. _What is he talking about? _

Tony groaned and slammed his hand into the wall, "Ziva!" He shouted, and he was pretty sure that the people that were impatiently waiting for the elevator to come back up and open for them heard it as well. He finally sighed and ran his hand through his hair before becoming calmer, "I saw you in the garage today."

She rolled her eyes, "I am glad that you have good vision then, Tony."

"Now is not the time for jokes." He muttered angrily under his breath, and it was this time that Ziva leaned forward.

"Oh yes?" she questioned, moving forwards towards him, but Tony didn't change his position, rendering Ziva from moving in certain directions, "Then tell me how come every time we have a 'serious' conversation, you throw in a movie quote or some _idiotic _joke? Hmm?"

"We're not talking about me. We're talking about _you._"

She groaned, rolled her eyes, and then promptly scoffed as she leaned back against the elevator, "Fine. What do you want? I have lots of work to do, Tony. As do you."

"How come you didn't fight back?'

"Fight back?" she questioned, and he nodded.

"Yeah. Fight back. That guy in the garage today. You didn't fight back."

She rolled her eyes, "I must admit that he was stronger than me, but..."

"Stronger than you?" Tony laughed, "You take out an escaped mental patient of a marine on mutant steroids, but you can't take out an overweight man?"

"Not when I am tired!" She shouted, and that shut Tony up. His smiled disappeared off of his face.

"Tired?" He questioned, and she just closed her eyes and leant her head back against the wall of the lift, her entire head pounding from heat, exhaustion, and...Tony, "No, you can't be tired, I'm the one that's tired. You can't be tired." He shook his head.

"I had...trouble sleeping last night. And the night before."

He grinned as his face lit up, "Couldn't sleep without me, could ya?"

"No!" She shouted quickly, her face slightly heating up, the blood rushing to her cheeks at the thought, "I mean...I can sleep just fine...without _you. _I merely was...upset."

"About what?" He probed.

"The press." She decided after taking a deep breath and pausing for a couple of seconds.

He grinned again, "Liar."

"Am not!" She shouted.

"Are too!" He fought back, and she just narrowed her eyes to slits at him.

"Are we done here?" Ziva asked, attempting to push past him, but he quickly pushed her back into the corner. She sighed, "I guess I shall take that as a no."

"Why..." He sighed, looking down at the ground, "Why won't you..."

"What?" she prompted.

He finally looked up at her, "Take me back."

She froze for a second, her heart racing, it thumping loudly in her ears. She could visibly see her heart beating in her chest, "Tony..." She closed her eyes for a second or two, "I did not want to-"

"Then why did you?" He demanded, leaning in closer towards her, "If you didn't want to, Ziva, damn it, then don't do it!"

"It was the only way to get them off of our asses, Tony!" she shouted, standing upright as much as she could with Tony barricading her into the corner, his arms only moving in towards her, not out, and getting stronger, "If we broke up in the front of the press, I was hoping that they would leave us alone!"

"Yeah, well!" Tony laughed dryly, "Didn't work now, did it sweetheart?" He spat.

"I did not know that they would say such horrible lies!" She shouted and then looked down at the ground, leaning back against the wall again. Her head banged against the metal, "If my father finds out..."

Tony moved closer to her, and she immediately became on red alert and stood up straight, "He's not going to find out." He muttered, almost angrily, his breath hot against her skin.

"How can you be so certain?" She asked, and he just grinned down at her, moving seductively towards her. Her breath hitched in her throat as his face ended up nearly inches from hers.

"I'll make sure of it."

She laughed, yet it was short, her voice disappearing to a whisper, "And if it happens?" She questioned, "If he does find out...?"

"Well then, let's have fun with it." He grinned, and she shook her head.

"No, Tony." She whispered, staring him deep into the eyes, "We are over." she said again, slowly, as if he didn't hear her the first time that she said it.

"But..." He stammered, "I thought that we...I thought you didn't want to."

"I do not." She admitted, looking down at the ground as she managed to shove him away, "But it is the best way. This way, the press will eventually become bored, and we will both eventually move on." She looked him up and down as they stood side by side in the elevator. She twiddled with her thumbs before turning back to look at them, "Besides," She shrugged her shoulders, "I do not see you getting married or having any children...." She looked at him, unaware of the hurt that filled his eyes as she reached over and flipped the emergency switch back on. The elevator thrusted to life, "You love too many women way too much." She said as the doors opened and she stepped out, the doors closing behind her.

Tony just stared in completely shock and sadness at the doors as they sealed shut. Then, it all turned to anger and rage as he flipped the emergency switch once again. The elevator halted to another uneasy stop and Tony continued to pace, clenching and unclenching his fists before he finally kicked the tabloid that was lying on the ground and then promptly punched and kicked one of the walls of the elevator multiple times before finally sliding down onto the ground, "Just one," he muttered, a little out of breath, "Just one, Ziva. Just one."  
________________________________________________________________________________

Gibbs looked over at the senior field agent's desk again. He _still_ wasn't there. He stood up and leaned on his desk with two hands.

"McGee!" McGee popped his head up quickly, nobody had said anything in an hour. It was nice and quiet when DiNozzo wasn't there.

"Yeah boss?" McGee asked cautiously.

"Where is DiNozzo?"

"Don't know." Gibbs narrowed his eyes at him. "But I will find out." He said and began typing furiously on his keyboard. Gibbs turned to Ziva, who kept her head down the entire time.

"Ziver?" Gibbs said. Ziva let out a sigh and looked at him.

"Yes, Gibbs?"

"Do you know where he is?" Ziva felt her heart break at the mention of Tony.

"No, I do not. I have not seen him in an hour." Gibbs let his stare linger on Ziva until McGee called his name, several seconds later.

"Boss, Tony is still in the building." McGee said.

"What?" Gibbs said loudly.

"Yeah, he's still here." McGee said.

"Find him. Now!" McGee and Ziva quickly stood up, but stopped immediately when they left the squad room.

"What's going on there?" McGee asked, in reference to the line at the elevator. Gibbs walked over to the two and stared at the line of people who were waiting at the elevator.

"Damn it, DiNozzo." Gibbs muttered.

"Why didn't they just...take the stairs?" Ziva asked. And then it hit her. They were arguing in the elevator about an hour ago. And Tony didn't leave it when she did. That meant he was _still_ in there. Ziva shut her eyes and turned her head, away from McGee. She returned to her desk and got back to work, trying to take her mind off of Tony.

"McGee!" Gibbs yelled again.

"Yes boss?"

"Get Tony on the phone." He demanded.

"Boss, I don't know if..." Gibbs smacked him on the back of the head.

"I'll figure it out." He sat down at his desk and typed on his computer. Exactly 6 minutes later he grinned. "Boss I did it! I had to..." Gibbs only stared at him, "...you don't care. Here you go." He handed Gibbs the phone.

"DiNozzo!" Gibbs screamed into the phone. Ziva didn't look at him. She couldn't. "You get up here. NOW!" He then slammed the phone down. He then walked over to the elevator and waited.

Tony let out a deep sigh and slowly stood up. He knew he was about to get it from his boss. He rubbed his face and then looked down at his hands. His knuckles were blood red from where he hit the sides of the elevator earlier. He then looked at the silver wall. There were dents. He looked up at the ceiling and sighed again. "Crap." He said to himself. He sucked through his teeth and finally flipped the switch on the elevator. The lights hurt his eyes, but when it came to a stop he opened them slightly. Tony looked at the line of people waiting, who started to walk towards him. He then felt a hand on his chest, pushing him back in. Gibbs pressed a button and the doors closed, causing groans from the line. "What are they doing there?" Gibbs flipped the switch.

"I don't know, DiNozzo. Maybe WAITING FOR THE ELEVATOR!"

"Why didn't they take the stairs?" He asked.

"DiNozzo, you better have a damn good reason for staying in the elevator for an hour." Tony sighed and opened his mouth to speak when Gibbs spoke again. "And your answer better not begin with a 'z'." Tony narrowed his eyes.

"Then I've got nothing for ya, boss." He said. Gibbs promptly slapped him on the back of his head.

"Snap out of it." Gibbs said. He turned to flip the switch again when Tony stopped him.

"Boss, you don't understand..."

"What don't I understand, DiNozzo?" He snapped.

"Ziva's not the same."

"Probably because she is dating her partner." Gibbs replied. Tony ignored him and continued.

"The press is out of hand."

"Yeah? Whose fault is that?" Tony sighed again.

"After what happened this morning, it's not even safe to leave this building anymore."

"What are you talking about."

"This morning, in the garage, Ziva was walking to the building. And this guy...he...hurt her. He wouldn't leave her alone. I punched the bastard in the jaw and got her into the building." Tony admitted.

"Is that true?"

"Boss you think I would make something like that up?" Tony replied. Gibbs let out a sigh. Tony then picked up the magazine that laid on the elevator floor. "Did you see this?" He asked, pointing to it.

"Yeah, yeah I did. I know you would never hit a woman DiNozzo." It became quiet for several seconds. "You two will stay here. Until they leave."

"Boss that could take weeks."

"I don't care, DiNozzo." Gibbs replied and then flipped the switch. Tony groaned. He knew he wasn't gonna win, so he quit trying.

The elevator doors opened, revealing smiles from the line of people. Gibbs stood in it, holding the doors. Several people tried to pass him. "No." He then looked at the squad room. "Ziva!" He yelled. Ziva didn't even look at Tony as she passed him. Gibbs let Ziva in the elevator and just as the doors started to close, several of the line people yelled at him.

"Come on that's not your elevator!" He heard one say. Gibbs stepped back out and quickly shut them up.

"Hey! Take your lazy asses to the stairs!" He then flipped the switch again, pulling the elevator to a halt. He lifted Ziva's arm and stuided the hand print that was still there. "You ok?" He asked quietly.

"Yes, Gibbs. I am fine." She said.

"You don't look fine, Ziva." He whispered.

"I am fine." She said again.

"Did Tony hurt you?" Gibbs asked and Ziva looked him right in the eyes.

"No. Tony would never hit me."

"I know that." Gibbs said quickly. "You and Tony will stay here, until the press is off your ass."

"Gibbs that is not necessary..."

"I don't care what is necessary, Officer David." He narrowed his eyes and stared at her, "It's not a debate."


	14. Chapter 14: First Night

He closed the door behind him to MTAC and looked around for Gibbs or any other agent lurking in the shadows. Though, to be honest, Gibbs was the only one that actually ended up lurking in the back.

"Director Vance?" One of the technicians turned in their seat, headset on, finger on the button, "Director David's on the line."

Vance nodded and motioned with his hand, "Put him on."

She nodded back and then flipped the switch, the rainbow bars changing to Eli David's face. Leon grinned at the screen as he stood in full attention towards the screen, "Eli David." He smiled, "How are you doing today, sir?"

_"There is not enough time for formalities today, my friend, only answers." _He paused, "_Is the room clear?" _

Vance looked around and checked one more time before confidently nodding, "Yes sir, Director."

"_Good." _He leaned forward in his seat, "_Ziva?" _

"Haven't seen her in a couple of days sir." He responded and he watched the terror streak onto his face.

_"Well where is she, Leon?!" _He shouted, "_You must find her at once!" _

Vance put his hands up, stopping the Director, "Sir, she is safe and sound down in the squadroom, I just meant that I haven't _talked _to her in a couple of days."

Eli visibly relaxed, "_Thank you, Leon. I was sure that she would have left by now." _

"She is very concerned."

_"She should be...she has been found out. She is no longer Mossad Assassin Ziva David, she has now been fully exposed thanks to that Anthony DiNozzo." _He scoffed at his name, "_Scum, I tell you Leon, just pure scum. If Anthony was not involved with her, none of this ever would have happened." _He sighed, "_I do not wish to exterminate my own daughter, Leon." _

"I understand." He nodded, "I would feel the same way if I was in your shoes." He agreed, "However, I do recall hearing Agent Gibbs request the stay of both Ziva and DiNozzo tonight in NCIS, in an attempt to keep the press away." He loooked around and then moved forward a little, "Did you get the second package I expressed to you?" He asked, and Eli nodded.

"_She is being exposed Leon! There must be a way to stop this! I must at least take her back to Tel Aviv, where she is safe, where she belongs, away from....Anthony." _

Leon nodded, "I understand. DiNozzo's a bad influence on people."

_"Exactly. Something my daughter does not need. I will fly in in a couple of days to Dulles, early morning, I will send you my flight itinerary." _

Leon nodded, again, "Sounds good." He replied, "Should I inform Ziva of your arrival?"

Eli shook his head, "_No, Leon. If she knows, she may flee. I will see you soon, my friend. Keep my daughter safe until I get there, if you can." _And then the screen went blank.

* * *

Tony was trying to work. He really was. Since he and Ziva were "off the case" they now each had a stack of paperwork to do.

But he couldn't get his mind off of that stupid magazine. It sat on the corner of his desk, and he saw it out the corner of his eye several times. About the tenth time, he'd had enough and shoved it into his desk drawer. He watched Ziva as she left the elevator with Gibbs and returned to her seat. She looked up at him for a second, but quickly resumed her deskwork. Tony tapped his pen on his desk several times, before deciding to get back to work. He didn't know how, but he actually got a little work done. He sat back in his chair to stretch. He looked at Ziva's desk.

She wasn't there.

And neither was Gibbs.

"Probie!" He said loudly.

"What, Tony?" McGee said, without taking his eyes off of his computer.

"Where is everyone?" He asked.

"Gibbs is down with Abby, and Ziva went to the restroom." McGee replied.

"I need you to do something for me." McGee rolled his eyes.

"I'm busy Tony. I'm working on the case." He stood up and walked over to the printer. "I'm doing the job of three people since you and Ziva had a little married fight. I don't have time to do something for you."

"Stuff it, McBusy." He followed McGee over to his desk and stood right next to him, watching as he typed on the screen. McGee tried to ignore him at first but then couldn't take it anymore.

"What do you want?" He finally said. Tony grinned and looked at him.

"A number."

"Zero." Tony looked at him.

"Zero?"

"Yeah. Your IQ." McGee replied. Tony slapped him on the back of the head. Several minutes later, he was writing down the number for the senior feild agent.

"Thank you, McProbles. I owe you one."

"Yeah right." McGee said, and then returned to working on the case. Tony returned to his own desk and quickly dialed the number that McGee found for him.

"Yes this is Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo of NCIS, may I speak to Kelly Williams please?" He watched Ziva as she sat down at her desk, so he turned around in his chair. Ziva watched him. She'd heard that name before.

One of Tony's old girlfriends?

No, that wasn't it.

Old case?

Why would Tony be working on a old case? She shook that thought out of her head and returned to her work.

_"She is not in, sir, would you like her voice mail?"_

"Yes, please." The operator put him on hold and her phone rang several times. "Hello my name is Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo of NCIS and I would like to set up an interview with you. If you could please give me a call I would greatly appreciate it. My number is 202-555-3598. Thank you and I look foward to hearing from you." He said and then turned his chair back around to hang up his phone. He looked at Ziva, who wasn't paying him any attention. Or so he thought.

She was listening, as hard as she could. But he, for once, talked quietly, so quietly that the only words she understood were his name and "interview". Suddenly she felt her heart drop. He was setting up an interview for another job. Because of her. She let out a sigh and looked over at him. He was working, minding his own business.

The next couple of hours were dead silent. McGee and Gibbs were in and out of the squad room, going down to autopsy or the lab. Tony actually kept busy, working on the stack of paperwork. Ziva was thinking about Tony's phone call. He heart sank again when his phone rang. He picked it up and turned around in his chair again.

"Hi thanks for returning my call." Tony said.

"_No problem. I was wanting to give you a call anyway." _Kelly said with a chuckle. "_What can I do for you?" _

"Well I don't know if you've seen..."

_"Yes, I have."_

"It's not true. And I wanted to come on your show because..." He laughed nervously, "you're my favorite. And I want to set the record straight."

_"Great. I look forward to meeting you and Officer David." _

"No, no no, wait. Officer David will not be joining me." Ziva looked up. She _knew_ she heard her name. She narrowed her eyes at Tony's chair.

"_Can't do the interview without Officer David, Agent DiNozzo. That's a deal breaker." _Tony then turned his chair around, and looked at Ziva, her eyes were daggers at him. He then realized that he was still on the phone.

"Ok, fine. Fine, fine, fine. That's...fine." He lied. She. Was. Going. To. Kill. Him.

"_Ok great. I'll have my assistant contact you with the details._" Kelly said.

"Ok thanks. You too. Bye." Tony said and slowly hung up his phone.

"Tony what did you do?" Ziva asked him.

"Nothing." He replied quickly.

"I heard my name, DiNozzo! What. Did. You. Do?" Ziva snapped. Tony rolled his eyes and dropped his pen on his desk.

"That was Kelly Williams from ZNN." Tony said. That's where Ziva had heard the name before. ZNN.

"Why were you talking to Kelly Williams from ZNN? And why did you say my name?" She asked. Tony ran a hand through his hair, not wanting to answer her. She continued to stare at him, much like he did with McGee earlier.

"I uh...set up an interview with her. Because I want everyone to know..." He stopped when he saw Ziva walk over to his desk and lean on it with two hands.

"You. Did. What?!" She yelled. Tony looked with his eyes and thanked God that McGee and Gibbs weren't in the squad room. Ziva then began to pace in front of his desk, yelling several, well, what Tony guessed as Hebrew curse words, at him. She finally returned to her desk and returned to her paperwork. When Tony thought it was safe, he spoke.

"Ziva, calm down. It's just an interview." She snapped her head up and narrowed her eyes at him.

"We were supposed to get them away, not closer!" She yelled. She put her hand up towards him. "I cannot believe you did not ask me first. Do not talk to me. You make my skin itch." Tony wanted to correct her English so bad. But she was pissed. More pissed than he'd ever seen her. So he kept his mouth shut.

* * *

Tony didn't see Ziva for the rest of the day, in fact, he was getting rather worried about her when 2000h came rolling around and she _still _hadn't come back. Tony tapped his pen on his desk again, about the thirteenth time in thirty seconds, and McGee groaned and rolled his eyes, "Tony!" He suddenly shouted, "Trying to work here! Could you keep it down?"

Tony was about to open his mouth and spit something else back out at him, but he decided not to as Gibbs walked into the bullpen, "Go home, McGee. You aren't working anymore. This case isn't going anywhere." He admitted as he went to sit down at his computer, "Go home, McGee." He repeated, "now." McGee suddenly stood up and then noticed the empty desk next to Gibbs'.

"Uh...boss?" He questioned, and Gibbs rolled his eyes and turend impatiently to the junior field agent, "Where's Ziva?"

"Ask her boyfriend." He said, smirking as he looked down at the paper. McGee turned slowly to Tony.

"Tony? Where's Ziva?" He questione,d and Tony shrugged his shoulders.

"Don't know McLonesome. Why?"

"Well...it's just...she's been gone since...well...a long time."

"Yeah, yeah, I know probie." He admitted, "So what?"

"So I was just wondering where she went..."

"Get out of people's business!" He shouted, and then turned back to the millions of paperwork he still ahd left. He hadn't been able to think clearly the entire day. Though he was really starting to think that the interview thing was going to be a horrible idea. But then again, Tony would be able to see himself on TV, his whole mug, in an interview! How cool was that? Insanely cool. Well, at least for Tony it was.

"Well, Tony." Gibbs said, "Make sure she's in the building." Tony nodded and then stood up.

"You two going home?" he asked as they both nodded.

"Yeah, Tony, we are."

"Great!" Tony grinned, but Gibbs glared at him and Tony realized that he had just been a little too overly enthusiastic about it all, "I mean...wait." He paused, "Where's our stuff?"

Gibbs just pointed to the two duffel bags behind his desk, both black, "Ziva sent me your list of what you wanted. She said you wanted her to give it to me. So she did." Gibbs shrugged.

McGee grinned, "Better watch out Tony, could have rigged it."

"_Could have rigged it._" He mocked as McGee started out of the bullpen. Tony turned and pointed to him, "Just you wait McGoo! Your _car _could be rigged!" He shouted before sighing and turning back towards his boss who greeted him with a quick headslap.

"Goodnight, Tony." He said, nodding as he patted his shoulder.

"Night, boss!" Tony called back.

"Just remember, DiNozzo..." He started over his shoulder, "There are security cameras." And with that he smirked and left the squadroom for the night, leaving Tony off in the hunt for Ziva.

* * *

He later found her in the men's restroom, leaned up in the far corner of the bathroom, against the orange wall, looking down at her feet.

She didn't look up when Tony came in, "Go away." She simply said, turning her head away from him as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

Tony laughed as he closed the door behind him, shoving his hands deep into his pockets, "This is the men's restroom. Techincally, according to the sign on the door, I should be the one telling you to go away."

She just narrowed her eyes at him, "You know why I am upset at you." She glared, and Tony gulped, "Sometimes I wonder what goes through your head." She shook her head as she spat at him.

He smirked, "You _really _want to know what's going through my head right now?"

She rolled her eyes, "Does it involve me?"

He laughed, "Oh yeah."

She rolled her eyes again, "Pig." She shifted against the wall, as she stared back down at her feet, "You do realize what is going to happen, right?" She looked up at him, "During that interview?" He shrugged. She gaped, "You do not care, do you? You honestly do not care that our lives are ruined!"

"She's hot!" He laughed, and that's when she completely blew up at him.

"That's _all _you care about?! Hot women?! I cannot believe you!" She started towards him, "Our lives are _ruined _because of you!"

"Because of me?" He gaped, "Excuse me, Ziva, but who was the one that jumped in front of the President, causing this entire _crap _to happen!" He argued back.

"Well I was just _doing my duty. _I was _following orders, _Tony. Do not start this again." She warned, "Do not do this!"

"Don't do what? Pretend that all of this is a big dream? Because it definitely seems like that, considering that two nights ago I slept with the most amazing woman in the world!"

"I do not _care _that when we slept together was the best bedroom experience I have ever had!" She fumed, "What matters is that you set up that interview without talking to me first!"

"Well _sorry_!" He drawled out the word, "Didn't know I had to go by with your permission!"

"Well it was not just _you_. It is _me _as well. Do I not matter?" She scoffed, "Apparently not."

Tony then threw his hands up in the air, "Of course you matter!" he shouted, enraged. He could barely control himself, "You're Ziva! You're the only girl...woman...that I've actually _thought _about crying about! Damn it, Ziva! I had no choice!" He shouted, his face turning red.

"You still could have talked to me first!" She shouted, "Not just accept without telling!"

"Ugh!" Tony groaned and then shoved her up against the wall, smashing his lips against hers. He hungrily pulled at her lips as she wrapped her arms around his head, running her fingers through his hair. He managed to run his hips into hers, causing her to wrap her legs around him, securing her to his waist. Her ankles locked together as he continued to pull at her lips. She wanted him off, she was insanely angry at him, but he just felt _so good_. She pressed her lips harder against his.

He pulled back for about a couple of seconds after each kiss, allowing her to breathe out, "I..." He pressed his lips up against hers again, "Hate..." She readied herself for another kiss, "You."

He grinned and then leaned back, resting his forehead against hers. He waited until she finally opened her eyes. They both glared at each other, "I hate you more." He grinned wider before pressing his lips on hers again. She could feel his smile against her lips as she felt the wall disappear behind her.

She felt something hard underneath her, and she opened her eyes just slightly to see that she was sitting on the counter of the bathroom now.

He continued to kiss her and she felt his hands move up her shirt, running his hands over her bare stomach and tracing the muscles in her back as he groaned, "I hate you so much." He growled as he pressed his lips back against hers. He felt her hands move to the buttons of his suit, the jacket buttons undone and his tie as well as his dress shirt in about thirty seconds. In one swift movement, she pushed them off of his shoulders and they both fought for control of the kiss that they hadn't broke for a couple of minutes, just small seconds between kisses for air was all they needed.

He fumbled with her top, ripping it off over her head before immediately moving towards her pants. He slid them down and ran his hands up her thighs as they fell to the floor, sending shivers up and down her body. She shuddered and he pulled her body towards his.

So there she was, sitting on the cold bathroom counter, donned solely in panties and a bra, her legs wrapped around a half-naked Anthony DiNozzo, of whom she was utterly and completely mad at.

And...she couldn't think of a better moment.

She just felt _so good. _

It was like they were channeling their anger at each other through their bodies, releasing it into the now hot air of the bathroom.

He angrily ripped off the remaining articles of clothing as she did the same to him, her eyes burning with fire and passion...for him.

He moved towards her and was about to send her into complete and utter pleasure in her angry state of mind when he stopped and leaned down, "Right before I do this, I want you to know..." he paused, "I hate you _so _much."

"Damn it Tony! Stop thinking about yourself!" She shouted, grabbing his chest, her fingers lacing in his chest hair, "Just like you did when setting up that interview!" She growled, squeezing her fingers into his skin as she muttered under her breath, "You disgust me sometimes."

"Good." He grinned before they finally met, their bodies melting into the others embrace, the passion and the anger upping the temperature a couple of degrees.

The mirror fogged up as they disappeared from sight, the only sounds Ziva's screaming of curse words, Tony's name, and pure ecstasy.

* * *

"Well, I'll never be able to go in there again without thinking about that." Tony said, grinning at Ziva. She only rolled her eyes and walked away from him, towards the back elevator. Tony opened his arms and frowned, "Where are you going, sweetcheeks?"

"I am going to take a shower, Tony." She said. He licked his lips and ran over to her, when she put her hand on his chest. "Alone." She said. The elevator doors opened and she got on it. "And do not call me sweetcheeks when I hate you." She spat as the doors closed. Tony scoffed and walked back over to his desk. He quickly dialed the number to his usual pizza place. He hung up the phone and then looked around the empty room. He smiled. It wasn't just an empty room.

It was an empty _building_.

And that meant he could do anything he wanted and get away with it. He sat back in his chair and thought of the many possiblities.

Super glue on the keyboard. He shook his head.

No, been there, done that. And McGee would be expecting it.

Super glue on his _chair. _Now that's an idea. As he opened his desk drawer to retrieve the super glue, he thought about it. The super glue was really, really, _super_ glue, and he knew it'd tear the skin off of the back of his legs. And the probie did _not _handle pain well. He closed his drawer and sat back again.

Nothing.

All the ideas he thought about were to easy to fix, would hurt McGee, or would get himself hurt from Gibbs.

At a loss, he thought about what Ziva was wearing _before_ he removed her clothes. He grinned. He did love purple on her. He looked down at her bag that sat on her chair at her desk. He briefly wondered what other purple things she had in that bag. He looked around the room again.

Yep, he was still alone. He stood up and whistled as he walked over to her bag, slowly unzipping it and looking through the clothes. "Oooh, what is this, Ziva David?" He asked.

Ziva rounded the corner of the squad room. "What are you doing?!" She yelled. He jumped nearly three feet in the air. He chuckled nervously. She walked over to him and snatched her thong out of his hands. "Stay away from my desk." She muttered. He put his hands up and then walked over to McGee's desk, sitting down in his chair.

"What do you think we should do to him?" Tony asked. Ziva looked up from digging in her bag.

"I think you should just, leave him alone." She said plainly. Tony laughed sarcastically.

"Oh, Ziva, Ziva, Ziva. You know me better than that." She rolled her eyes and let out a sigh. He sucked through his teeth a couple of times. "What does the McGoo do when he first gets to work?" Ziva sighed.

"He turns on his computer." She said plainly. Tony studied the tower. No, McGee could easily fix anything he did to his computer.

"Hmm. What does he do next?" Tony asked, since he was rarely there before McGee or Ziva.

"I do not know." She said, now frustrated. She still _hated_ him. But she couldn't help but _love_ him after the...well...session in the mens restroom. She shuddered at the thought. Tony's loud laughing brought her out of her thoughts.

"I got it! He checks his messages!" He said happily, and then proceeded to his desk to find what he wanted. Ziva started to pull off her shirt, but then stopped when she remembered. The camera's. She walked out of the squad room, again towards the bathrooms. "Now where are you going?" Tony called.

"To change." Ziva stated. Tony laughed.

"You want me to join you?" She only glared at him. "I don't know why you're being so shy." He grinned, "I've seen you in the _nude._" He then watched her as she pointed to the corner of the room. Tony nodded and continued to dig through his desk drawer.

Tony used a feather duster and some dye for his prank. Just as he hung up McGee's phone, his own phone rang. He stood up, smile on his face and answered it.

"Yeah, send him up." Tony said. He walked over to the elevator and waited. When the doors opened, he took the pizza's from the delivery guy and paid him. Returning to his desk, he watched Ziva as she walked in. "Comfy?" He asked.

"Yes. I am." She said.

"I'm glad you like my shirts." Tony replied. Ziva sat down in her chair and looked around.

"So what now?" Tony couldn't answer, since his mouth was already full of pizza, so he only pointed at the box. Ziva stood up and walked over to it, taking a slice. She leaned on the table behind his desk. Tony finished chewing and turned around to face her. He looked her body up and down and grinned.

"I can think of a couple of things." Ziva couldn't help but smile, but she took another bite of her pizza instead of answering him. "No? Ok then, option number two. He stood up and walked to his bag and pulled out several DVD cases. "A movie!" He began to walk over to his desk, "Do we want Smokey And The Bandit or Titanic?" He asked her. She shrugged. "Ok, Smokey And The Bandit."

Tony put the DVD in his computer and the movie started. He pulled off his dress shirt and pants, leaving him only in his boxers. "Tony..." Ziva said.

"What?" He asked in defense. "This is what I sleep in!" He said and then laughed, "And usually, I don't even wear these." He pulled the elastic on the boxers. "Ok, ok, fine. He pulled out a t-shirt from his bag and slipped it on. "There." He sat down in his chair and grabbed another slice. "Here. Sit in my lap. At least it'll be a little more...comfortable." He smiled at her and she sat on him, on the edge of his knees. About five minutes into the movie, she began to shift. He took his hands and rubbed her back and spoke softly. "I'm sorry, Zi."

"No, it is ok."

"I'm not talking about that." Ziva turned to him and stared. She leaned in and gave him a slight kiss, but Tony held her there, turning it passionate. He leaned back in his chair as they kissed. Tony slipped his hand under her shirt again, but Ziva stopped and looked at him.

"Tony, we are in the squad room." She said. Tony chuckled and kissed her again. She laid her head on his chest and turned her attention to the movie. Tony propped his feet on the desk, and in about 10 minutes, both were asleep from exhaustion.


	15. Chapter 15: Interview

Ziva David groaned as she buried her face deeper into Tony's neck. She honestly didn't know what woke her up, but she absolutely hated it. She wanted to fall back asleep, in his arms, wishing it all away. All of it, the press, her being angry at him..._everything. _She listened to his soft snoring as she counted the beats of his heart. She let a small smile trace her lips as she let her eyes flutter shut before she felt Tony's chest vibrate. He groaned as he tightened his grip on her, pulling her closer to him. It was only then that she realized the placement of his right hand, which was running dangerously close to her ass area.

She had worn just an Ohio State Buckeyes Tee to sleep as well as a pair of white underwear, for Tony's shirt was way too big for her; it was practically a nightgown.

In the night, he had managed to run his hand up her thigh, exposing her underwear as well as part of her ass, where the material had slipped away during her sleep, to part of the squadroom.

She opened her eyes again and looked around, realizing that there were only a couple of people in the squadroom. She briefly wondered if Vance had gotten into work yet and had seen them sleeping together. She prayed that he didn't.

She turned and looked up at her partner, "Tony." She whispered, patting his cheek lightly, "Tony, wake up." He just fought it away, squinting his eyes and his face tighter together, shaking his head a little in an attempt to get the 'bug' away. He just pulled her closer to him. She sighed and stared at him as she watched the content smile grow on his face as he relaxed, wrapping his arms around her more, "Tony." She said, more firmly. Realizing that that wasn't going to work at all, she thought briefly back to when they were on protection details for the President and how Tony woke _her _up. she smiled as she leaned down and pressed her lips against his for a short kiss.

His eyes immediately shot open and then nearly threw her backwards as he kissed her back with such force and integrity. She felt her butt run into Tony's desk as he shoved her up against it. He was practically on top of her as he tangled his hands in her hair and continued to tug on her lips before finally letting go and staring into her confused eyes. She laughed, "I was just trying to wake you up, Tony."

He sighed and looked down, "Oh." he said, a little disappointment in his voice, "I thought I missed somethin'." He mumbled as he sat back down in his seat, rubbing a hand over his face.

She shook her head and then got off of him as she walked over to her duffel bag and pulled out her clothes and her toiletry bag, "I am going to go and get changed." she informed him as he nodded. He watched her....no, correct that, he watched her _ass _walk out of the bullpen and then he ran his fingers through his bed head of a mess. His mind immediately thought back to their session in the bathroom last night, and he grinned. He was getting hot just thinking about it. Deciding that probably wasn't the best thing to do during work, he threw open his bottom right desk drawer and pulled out a cup, a toothbrush, toothpaste, and a water bottle. He muttered angrily to himself about how it was too darn early as he poured the water into the cup.

"Too early." he muttered, "_I was just trying to wake you up, Tony_!" He mocked her as he applied toothpaste to his toothbrush. He stuck it in his mouth, "I don undersand...I mean...I din do anting to her." His mouth was full of toothpaste and toothbrush, that he could barely her himself, "I wa jus tryina be a good boyfren, ya kno?" And that was when he stopped the toothbrush in his mouth, mid-brush, some foam dripping down his face as he slowly turned to look at who was standing in the middle of the entrance to the bullpen. Tony immediately spit into the cup and then dropped the toothbrush as he wiped his mouth with his hand, "Director Vance!" He exclaimed, standing up. He cocked an eyebrow at him, "How are you this morning?" He grinned, "Peachy keen?"

"Oh, couldn't be better DiNozzo." He said warily, looking around the bullpen, "Where's David?"

"Bathroom." he responded, grinning again, "You know, when a girls gotta go, a girls gotta go."

Vance just nodded slowly before disappearing up the stairs. Tony rolled his eyes, "_Where's David_?" He mocked before walking over to his duffel bag and pulling out his own clothes for the day.

"Morning, DiNozzo." He heard McGee say, and he grinned as he stood up straight, turning to look at the junior field agent as he walked into the bullpen, a large smile donned on his face, "Have a good night last night?" He asked as he sat down at his desk, throwing his backpack down on the ground in the process.

"Fine." He responded, "Why so cheery? Beat that elf game of yours again?" he laughed, and McGee rolled his eyes.

"No, I..."

"I got it!" Tony shouted, clapping his hands together and grinning, "You won your chess tournament! What's your prize? A gold chess piece?"

McGee scoffed, "No. And, if you must know, you get a rather large trophy."

"I don't know what I find more embarrassing. The fact that you obviously didn't do anything fun last night, or the fact that you actually know what you get if you win a chess tournament!"

"I was with someone, Tony."

And that made him stand up straight as he walked towards him, "What's his name?"

McGee rolled his eyes again, "_Her _name's Tracey." He proudly said, "Met at chess camp last summer. She called me up and we had dinner together last night." He smiled and Tony started to walk around McGee in his seat, bending down and poking under his collar and checking his neck.

"No dessert." Tony sighed, "Have you ever actually had sex with anyone?"

McGee let out a deep breath as he breathed in as well and was about to answer before he stopped. He breathed in again. He recognized that smell, "Yes..." he responded, his mind going to work, "And speaking of sex..." He turned towards him. It was his turn to grin, "Why do you smell like it?"

Tony immediately was taken back as he stood up straight. He gaped a couple of times before he suddenly became serious, "It's my new cologne McHorny, like it?" He spat as Tim watched him walk away from his desk. He was starting to walk out of the bullpen with his clothes when McGee stopped him.

"I betcha Ziva liked it too." He grinned and then watched as Tony immediately stopped in his tracks and then slowly turned around to glare at him.

"None of your business." He finally decided before storming off.

McGee grinned as he turned on his computer and then glanced over at his desk phone, noticing the little red light on, meaning that he had a new voice mail. He picked it up and dialed the number for voice mail as well as his password as he leaned back in his seat, "McGee 1, Tony 0." He smiled as he listened to the voice mail. He set it back down before he felt something wet and sticky on his ear. He touched it and then looked down at his purple fingers. He groaned. He should have known. He sighed as he changed the score, "McGee 1, Tony 1."

The squad room was quiet, except the sound of McGee's keyboard. He looked up and smiled when Ziva walked into the room.

"Good morning McGee."

"Morning, Ziva. How was your night?" She couldn't help but smile.

"Fine, thank you." She said. "Where is Gibbs?"

"Hasn't made it in yet." McGee replied. Ziva raised her eyebrow and then sat down in her chair. Several minutes later, Tony walked in in an undershirt and his boxers. McGee let out a sigh and rolled his eyes. "Tony, put on some clothes." He demanded. Tony walked over to his desk and looked down at the probie.

"Some people like me a little..." he turned and looked at Ziva, "naked." Ziva only rolled her eyes and turned back to her computer screen. Tony then looked back at McGee.

"Yeah. _Some_ people. But not me and I bet Gibbs won't either."

"He doesn't. DiNozzo," Gibbs slapped him on the way to his own desk, "get dressed."

"Getting dressed, boss." Tony walked over to behind Ziva's desk, where the duffel bags still sat. After winking at her, he pulled out a hanger that had his suit for the day perfectly on it. He laid it down on Ziva's desk and snatched the pants off, and proceeded to put them on, standing right next to Ziva, who pretended like he wasn't even there.

"Not in here, DiNozzo." Gibbs said plainly. Tony looked at him and sighed, taking his leg back out of the pants and taking the hanger with him as he exited the squad room. Gibbs then looked across the bullpen. "McGee, what is wrong with your ear?"

"Ask DiNozzo." Ziva let out a small chuckle, earning a stare from the boss.

"Fix it." Gibbs demanded. And with that McGee left the squad room, towards the back elevator to see if Abby had anything to fix it.

Now dressed and groomed, Tony walked over behind Ziva again and pulled his tie out of the bag. He didn't move from her desk.

"Where did Gibbs go?" He asked no one in particular. Ziva looked up at him.

"Up with Director Vance." She watched him as he fumbled with his tie. "Here Tony, let me." She said and stood up. He grinned and looked at her.

"Usually I just need a mirror, but I like this way better." He commented, and then wrapped his arms around her waist. McGee returned, now with a clean ear, and saw the lovebirds.

"People in the room." They heard from McGee's desk. Ziva finished with his tie and patted him on the chest.

"Thank you." He said and started to lean in to kiss her, when she put her hand over his mouth.

"Go back to your desk, Tony." He reluctantly obliged and let go of her, sitting down at his desk.

"Yes, Cynthia?"

_"They have a high priority call for you in MTAC."_

"Thank you." Leon said and hung up his phone. He stood up, buttoned his coat and straightened his tie, and walked over. Walking in, he saw Director Eli David on the screen.

"Hello Director David, how are you sir?" Leon said.

_"Fine Leon my friend, and you?"_

"Doing good."

_"How is my daughter?"_ He asked.

"She is fine." Leon said.

_"What about that...Agent DiNozzo of yours?"_

"He is fine too." Leon nodded. Eli sighed and leaned up closer to the screen.

_"Have you seen anymore bruises on my daughter?"_

"Bruises?"

"_Yes, from Agent DiNozzo."_

"I do not think that he hit her, Eli. Seems the press see what they want to see."

_"Leon I have taught my daughter better than that. She is letting her feelings getting in the way from protecting herself from him."_

"I don't think Agent DiNozzo would hit a woman. Especially Ziva. He's very protective of her. It's very obvious that DiNozzo cares for Ziva...a lot." Leon said.

_"My daughter has not asked you anything about my visit, has she?" Eli asked. _

"No sir."

_"She has always had like a sense of knowing when I am coming."_ He sat back in his chair. _"The reason I called you is to let you know that my flight will be delayed for a few days." _

"Alright Director. We look forward to seeing you." Eli nodded and Vance made the cut throat signal, bringing rainbow bars on the screen.

_**One Week Later...**_

Tony woke up first and stretched carefully, trying not to move Ziva. They were both relieved to have an air mattress now, since Tony made McGee go and get it for him. She was sleeping peacefully on his arm and began to rub her arm with his free one. He knew she'd kill him when she realized that today was a special day.

The day of the interview.

He smiled and did the wake up ritual, a slight kiss on the lips. She stirred and then opened her eyes.

"Good morning." He said quietly.

"Shalom." She replied.

"Did you sleep better with the mattress?" She sat up and stretched.

"Yes, I did." She replied with a smile. "I am going to shower." He smiled and nodded.

"Ok sweetcheeks." He watched her, all of her, walk out of the room.

After they both dressed, they met up in the squad room.

"Got you a tea." Tony said with a smile. Ziva took it and sipped on it, smiling at him.

"Thank you Tony." Ziva said. He smiled at her and then it was silent. For a _while_. Thousands of thoughts ran through Tony's head. _Does she remember? Should I tell her? Would she kill me? Yes. She would. But she needs to know. We've got to leave soon. Come on DiNozzo, just do it. No, I can't._ He let out a sigh.

"Hey Zi?"

"Yes Tony?" She asked.

"Do you uh..." He stopped. _Ask her, DiNozzo!_ His mind screamed at him, "remember what we've got to do today?" He finally said.

"Yes, I do." She replied and then returned to her work. Tony let out another sigh. Tony stood up from his chair and walked over to her desk.

"Good. Just wanted to remind you...in case you've...forgotten."

"I have not forgotten. But I am trying to figure out which way I am going to kill you for scheduling it in the first place." She said, still looking down at the paper work. Tony gulped.

"Uh...ok. Well, Someone is coming to get us soon, to take us to the studio." He commented.

"Fine." She replied.

"Morning boss." Tony said just as Gibbs walked into the squad room, coffee in hand. He kicked the air mattress out of his way and then pointed to it, turning to Tony.

"Pick it up." He demanded.

"Right." Tony replied. McGee walked into the squad room, chuckling at the senior field agent. "Probie." Tony warned, shaking his finger at him.

"Morning, Tony. By the way, looks like the plan is working. No reporters out there today." Tony grinned and Ziva couldn't help but to smile.

"None?" He asked.

"None." McGee replied.

"That's excellent!" He said happily, and then pointed to his lover. "Pack your bags, sweetcheeks! We are going home!" Gibbs only glared at him. "This one is on me boss." He said, and then gave himself a well-earned Gibbs slap.

"Agent DiNozzo, Officer David, this gentlemen is here for you." Tony looked at Ziva, who was standing from her chair. They nodded to the agent that was escorting the escort.

"Ready?" Tony asked her. Ziva stared at him as she left the squad room, following him.

They got into the limo and Tony watched Ziva as she straightened her shirt _again_. He asked her several questions, but only received one word answers from her. He knew she was nervous, something he'd never seen out of her. She let out a deep sigh again as they pulled up to the studio.

"This way please." The escort, who never even told them his name, said and opened one of the doors. Tony reached down and grabbed Ziva's hand, intertwining his fingers with hers. Ziva looked up at him and let a small smile overcome her lips. They watched as people ran around frantically some with headsets on and others had clothes in their arms.

"Miss David I need you to come with me, Mr. DiNozzo, you will need to go across stage to the men's area." They both nodded and the woman started to walk, until she noticed that Ziva wasn't following her. Tony placed his hands on the sides of her face and gave her a kiss.

"Relax. Everything will be fine." He said. She had no response as she walked away from him.

"Ok sit here and Michael will do your make up and Kaitlyn will do you hair." Ziva only nodded. She sat there and closed her eyes, letting out a deep sigh. She didn't understand why she was so nervous, and she wished that Tony was there beside her. "Ok you're done, now, I need you to change into these clothes." She shoved them into Ziva's arms and pointed to one of the dressing rooms. "Dress in there." Ziva wanted to punch her, but instead she let out another sigh and began to walk into the room, until she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey." He said with a grin. "You ok? You look beautiful." He said. He took his hand and traced the outline of her cheek. "You look pale. Are you ok?"

"It is the make-up Tony. I am fine."

"Are you hungry? Because I saw a table of..."

"Agent DiNozzo!" He heard a voice say.

"You need to get to your dressing room and change, we're on in ten minutes!" He was now being _dragged_ across the stage to the 'men's area'. Ziva felt her heartrate increase as she was being shoved into the dressing room. She pulled on the lavender dress and sat down on the couch. _Stop it, Ziva. You'll be fine. Tony will be right next to you._ She thought to herself, but it didn't help. There was a knock on her door and she answered it.

"Miss David, Kelly is ready for you at stage left. We're on in 7." He said. She nodded and then walked over to stage left, where Tony was already talking to Kelly. She then shook Ziva's hand.

"It's so nice to meet you." She said. Ziva smiled at her. Tony slid his arm around her waist and pulled her close. "So basically I'm just gonna ask you some questions, based on the articles I've seen, well, everybody has seen. And feel free to speak your mind, let the public know what you're thinking."

Tony looked down at the man who was putting a microphone on him. He then moved on to Ziva, and Tony wanted to punch him.

"Ok, shall we?" Kelly said and led them onto the stage. They started to follow her when she stopped. Ziva immediately stopped and ran right into Tony, who didn't have as fast reflexes. She turned around right as Tony wrapped his arms around her waist, keeping her from moving. She smiled, "Never mind, I'll introduce you two lovebirds." She grinned and Ziva moved from Tony's grip, who kept his hands on her as long as he could, "So stay here until I announce you, then you can come out." She smiled, "See you on stage!" She grinned before walking away to get touchups done as well as a mic check.

"Look, Ziva I just gotta say..." Tony sighed as he stared down at her. He let out a low whistle as he took in her entire body with his elevator eyes. He was going to say he was sorry for putting her through this stress, but he changed what he was going to say at the last minute, "You look incredible."

Ziva didn't look at him, she just sucked through her teeth, "Let's..." She sighed deeply, "Just get this over with."

Ziva wrung her hands together as she shifted from foot to foot stage left until Kelly grinned and pointed towards them. Everyone else clapped and Ziva turned to look at Tony, desperation in her eyes. She wanted nothing more than to run. But she was better than that. Running would show fear and it would be cowardly...two things she wasn't.

Suddenly she felt his lips brush up against hers, "Relax." He murmured against her lips, grinning slightly before he started onto the stage. She followed after him and the audience started cheering louder. Tony grinned at her as she caught up to his pace. Kelly stood up and grinned at them, shaking both of their hands as they took a seat on the gold couch next to Kelly's chair in the middle of the bright stage.

Ziva smoothed out her dress as she sat, staring down at her hands for the longest second and then looking up at Kelly. Her face was turned into a nervous frown, and Tony just grinned his famous DiNozzo grin, the audience still cheering as he pressed his lips up against her cheek, close to her ear as he murmured, "At least pretend like ya wanna be here."

A fake smile immediately donned her face as Tony pulled away and stared back at Kelly.

She grinned largely as the audience died down, "Well aren't we just lucky!" She pointed towards them, "America's hottest couple is in our studios _right now_!" More people cheered and Ziva gave a sheepish grin as she crossed her ankles together, picking at the hem of her dress, her hands shaking as she squeezed them tightly together to keep it less obvious. Why was she so nervous? And why was she so hot? It must have just been the lighting....her heart rate increased and then decreased all in one second.

Kelly leaned towards her, "You saved the President of the United States." She smiled, "Care to share how you did it?"

"I..." Ziva started, "There was a gun pointed to his head. Well, sniper rifle to be exact. I was able to pick up the...position of the target..."

Kelly just smiled, "Fascinating." Ziva knew that she was lying though. She didn't know how to explain her job to her. Thankfully, she turned to Tony, "What were you feeling when you saw her go down?"

Tony just smiled as he turned to look at Ziva, who was looking down at her skirt, which she was still picking at. "Fear." He smiled, "I thought I lost her." The entire audience went 'aww' as Ziva didn't move. He placed his hand tentatively on top of hers, and she looked up at him, giving him a small smile.

"Are you nervous, honey?" Kelly asked, and Ziva snapped her eyes up to hers.

"I am fine." She responded, and Kelly watched as Tony sighed. It was slightly obvious that something was wrong, for Tony's entire body language didn't believe her.

"So how did you two meet?" She questioned, "All that was written was something about phone sex...?" The entire audience went 'ooo'.

Tony smiled and even Ziva did as well, though it was obvious she was still nervous, "Well I had just lost my old partner, and we were in the middle of...solving a case..." Tony chose his words carefully, "When Ziva just came in while I was fantasizing about my old partner." A chorus of 'ohoho' came from the audience as Tony smiled, "She introduced herself, asked what I was doing, told her I was having phone sex, and that was that."

"So it was fate?" Kelly grinned.

Tony shrugged his shoulders, "Something like that."

Again, another 'aww' came from the audience.

"Okay, so let's get down to business." Kelly clapped her hands together and then reached towards the magazine on the coffee table. She pulled it up...it was the one with 'Tony doing drugs' and 'beating on Ziva'. Tony sighed and, if at all possible, Ziva got even more nervous, "Let's talk about this." She smiled, "Seems like you two are over your break up...back together?"

Tony just gulped and nodded, "Yeah we're back together." _Maybe this was a bad idea..._ Tony briefly thought.

"So you didn't beat her?"

"No!" Tony suddenly stood up, his hand flying from where it was on top of Ziva's, which resulted in a feeling of a void, "That's a huge lie!" He pointed down to the cover and Kelly even backed up a little, the smile dropping form her face.

"Tony." Ziva quietly said, tugging at the bottom of his jacket. He looked down at her and his expression softened as he sat back down and ran a hand through his hair as Ziva gave him a look that he couldn't quite decipher.

"Okay..." Kelly laughed nervously as she sat the magazine back down on the table, "You definitely aren't beating her."

"I would never." He spat, "Lies. The press wrote what they wanted to see."

Kelly just nodded, "So....I'm going to dive into some sticky business right now, so buckle up!" She warned them, and Tony shared a look with Ziva before turning back towards Kelly, "You two...tying the knot anytime soon?" She asked, 'tying a knot' with an imaginary rope. The rest of the audience waited with baited breath, and Tony just smiled slighty.

"We'll see." He said, looking at her. Her breath hitched in her throat and she squeezed her hands together as her eyes scanned the audience.

"Oh honey, no need to be nervous. You want to be with him the rest of your life, don't you?" Kelly asked, reaching over and placing a tentative hand on her knee. But Ziva didn't respond, her eyes were fixated on the man that had just walked in and was standing in the corner. That couldn't be.... Realizing that she wasn't going to answer, and to save her, Tony spoke up.

"How about you ask something else?" He questioned, glancing over at Ziva out of the corner of his eye every several seconds in order to try to read her face. She was nervous about something, I mean even McGee could see that, but there was also something else...fear? Tony's heart dropped. Was she afraid of living the rest of her life with him?

"Well...okay." She smiled, "You expecting, Ziva?" The entire audience went 'ooo' and then it was silent, every single person waiting with baited breath. Tony turned towards her. He knew that they had been having sex, but it was all her...he honestly didn't know if she was pregnant or not. However, her eyes were still fixated on the man in the corner, his arms crossed, staring at her. Kelly looked around a little, confused, "Ziva?" She asked and Tony suddenly felt her fingers around his, squeezing his hand tightly as she tore her eyes away and then looked down at her lap.

"I do not feel good." She admitted quietly, and her vision became blurry for a second or two before she suddenly stood up. She teetered in the spot a little before standing up straight, "I cannot do this..." She muttered before starting away. Tony was in shock, his hand still open from where Ziva had quickly snatched hers out of his.

"Ms. David!" Kelly shouted, "Stop!"

But everything was all such a blur to her. Her vision was disoriented and she found that she was having trouble determining what direction was straight. Her voice echoed in her head as her heart started beating irregularly. She had never felt this way before...what was wrong with her?

"Stop!" Kelly yelled, and it was at that moment that Ziva realized that she couldn't move her legs forward. And, before she knew it, her entire vision started closing in, black coming from every side like a curtain, and she couldn't stop it. Her knees buckled and she collapsed, her head smacking against the wood as she fell.


	16. Chapter 16: Concussion

* * *

Tony blinked.

That did _not_ just happen.

When he heard Kelly yell for an ambulance he ran over to where Ziva lay on the ground and, after moving several people out of his way, he dropped to his knees next to her. He gently cupped her pale face. "Ziva...Ziva!" He yelled. He looked around the room to see if the paramedics had arrived yet. Everyone was in a frantic chaos, except one man, who caught Tony's eye. He was just...standing in the corner. Staring. He looked familiar, so Tony snatched his cell phone off of his belt and took a picture, quickly sending it to Abby. He then turned back to Ziva. "Zi...Ziva..." He said more softly..since the yelling didn't work. He shook her gently. "Ziva, please..." He now begged, tuning out the chaos around him. And then he had an idea. It was now their morning ritual of waking the other.

A _kiss_.

It was sure to work. He lowered himself to her lips and gave her simple, quick kiss. Sadly, for the first time, the kiss _didn't_ work. He looked at the corner again and the guy was _gone_.

"Excuse me, move please!" One of the paramedics said, trying to make their way to Ziva. One of them put his hand on Tony's shoulder and pulled on his coat to make him stand up.

"You'll have to move away from the deceased...I mean patient...woman..." He stuttered. Tony gritted his teeth together and then reached for his SIG on his side, but it wasn't there.

"Take your hand off of me." Tony demanded. The paramedic moved his hand and Tony squatted down to Ziva again.

"Sir...you'll have to move." The other said. That's when Tony lost it.

"I am not leaving her side!" He said. It was so loud that the whole studio was now looking at him. "Not now, not ever!" He added. Ziva opened her eyes and blinked.

"Tony." She said. Tony grinned and grabbed her hand.

"I'm here Zi."

"What happened? Where am I?" She asked.

"You fainted, but you'll be ok. You're in the studio."

"What happened?" She asked again and then closed her eyes tight, mumbling something about her head hurting, Tony couldn't understand.

"Alright on three. One two three.." They lifted Ziva onto the stretcher. Tony kept his hand on hers.

"Officer David do not move your head." One paramedic instructed.

"Where am I?" She asked again.

"Ziva you're at a studio, remember, sweetheart?" They pushed the stretcher onto the ambulance and Tony got in with her. Nobody said anything to him, because, frankly, they were scared of him. He looked at one of them.

"She's going to be ok, right?"

"I don't know."

"Don't tell me you don't know!" Tony yelled. She backed up from him and cleared her throat.

"Well it appears that she has a mild concussion, the doctor will have to let you know." She said. Tony turned back to Ziva and rubbed his thumb over her knuckles.

"Tony..." She mumbled and he looked down at her.

"Yeah babe?" He asked quietly.

"Was I in...Israel?" Tony raised an eyebrow.

"No, why?"

"I saw him. He was...there." Her words were running together but Tony knew exactly what she said.

"You saw who?" He asked her.

"My father..." She replied. "I am so sleepy..." And suddenly the paramedic spoke up.

"No! Miss David, you can not go to sleep. Stay with us." She then turned to Tony, "If she sleeps, she'll slip into a coma." Ziva closed her eyes again and Tony shook her shoulder lightly.

"Zi...stay with me." He said. She opened her eyes again and looked at him. She started to close her eyes again. "Ziva..." He said. He knew he needed to keep her awake. "So uh...have you figured out which way you're gonna kill me?"

"No, but my top three are the stapler, the mouse, and a paperclip." She said, a slight smile formed on her lips. Tony smiled and then let it fade.

"Hey Ziva..." He said again. She looked up at him. "Remember the war game, when we were in the elevator?" Ziva only blinked, but he knew she knew what he was talking about, "Did you mean..."

"Yes." She said quietly. He smiled at her and bent down to kiss her when the paramedic stopped him.

"Agent DiNozzo," she put her hand on his shoulder, just as his lips were centimeters from hers. He gritted his teeth together and stared at the woman.

"What?" He said.

"She does not need to move her head." She replied. Tony let out a sigh and sat down. They finally arrived at the hospital.

Tony stood outside of the room where the doctor was examining Ziva. He heard the elevator behind him ding, but he didn't turn around.

"Tony! Tony! I saw what happened! Is she okay?!" Abby yelled, running over next to him.

"She'll be fine, Abs." Tony mumbled. Suddenly he felt the goths arms around him.

"Oh Tony!" She said, "First she gets shot and then she...she..." She stopped and let go of him, "What happened?"

"I don't know." Tony admitted. He then was joined by Dr. Mallard, McGee, and somebody he really didn't want to face, his _boss. _"Did you see what happened, Ducky?"

"Yes, I did Anthony. It appeared to be symptoms of syncope."

"What does that mean?" Tony asked, now becoming impatient.

"She probably was nervous, upset, worried. Something triggered it and brought her over the top."

"Maybe the questions." Tony replied.

"Mmmhmm or maybe your answers." Gibbs spoke up. Tony turned around and narrowed his eyes at him. Abby hooked her arms in McGee's and Ducky's and took them away from the two, leaving the hallway empty.

Tony didn't look at anything but Gibbs, "With me." he demanded as he started to walk away, "Now!" He shouted when he realized he wasn't following him. Gibbs just slightly smirked, yet he was still angry. Tony had no right to do this....to Ziva...to him...to the agency...no one.

Tony finally stopped and started pacing in front of the vending machine, "Okay boss, you listen up." he demanded as he glared at him with his now icy eyes, "Ziva's..."

"What happened?" He questioned, interrupting him, which really made Tony mad. However, his anger simmered as he continued to pace, "One moment she's sitting next to you and then the next she's running away and then falling over! Care to explain?"

Tony laughed shortly and spread his arms wide, "You think I know?"  
"I was hoping you might. You were there."

"If I did, she wouldn't be here right now. I know she doesn't want to be here, I wouldn't put her through that..."

"Then why'd you insist on putting her through that damn interview?" He demanded and Tony scoffed.

"I..." He then stopped immediately and fumbled with his words, "I...don't..." He fumbled some more, "I never..."

"Thought that she might actually have feelings, DiNozzo? That she's not just some ninja robot?"

Tony gritted his teeth together, "I know she's more than that....in fact, she's not that at all. She's got more emotions that you probably have!"

Gibbs tapped his hands together as he looked down at them, not at Tony, "When you planning on proposing, DiNozzo?"

Tony stopped and looked up at him, confused, "Excuse me, boss?"

"You said...in the interview today....that 'we'll see' about getting married." He looked up at him, "First you break rule twelve. Then you break my number one rule....you get married...to your partner of all people." He glared up at him with his icy blue eyes.

"We're not getting married." Tony groaned.

"Then why'd you say it?"

"Didn't want to seem rude, did I?" He asked, his tone sarcastic.

Gibbs just pursed his lips together and nodded his head, "Sure seems rude to not really care about the health of..." He paused, "It."

"It?" Tony asked, "It?" He repeated, and Gibbs just nodded.

"It."

Tony laughed, "Oh. You mean McGee." he laughed again, grinning, "Why, what's wrong with him? Sex change go all out of whack?" Gibbs just sighed and looked down at the ground as Tony's grin faded, "Not what you were lookin' for."

"How long?" He asked, staring down at his shoes.

"How long what? Have Ziva and I been dating? Boss you know this..."

"No, DiNozzo, I mean how far along is she?" His eyes met his and Tony gulped before narrowing his eyes.

"I..." Tony stuttered, "Don't know." He honestly didn't. Ziva hadn't said anything about it to him, and how was he supposed to know?

"Don't you lie to me." Gibbs demanded, walking towards him, his eyes even icier, "Don't you cover for her! You think you'll be able to hide a bump forever, you're mistaken."

Tony groaned, frustrated, "I'm not covering for her!" he shouted, "I. don't. know." He slowly said.

"How many times you slept with her?" Gibbs asked, and Tony paused for a moment. Gibbs changed the formatting of his question, "I mean...how many times you screwed her?"

And that's when Tony's eyes grew nearly red as he snapped them up to his icy blue ones, glaring at him, "You apologize." He said through gritted teeth, "Now!"

Gibbs just nodded, "Ah." He smirked slightly, "So she is pregnant."

"You going to apologize?" He demanded, his fists clenched together, "I don't damn well care if it's a sign of weakness. Be a man and say you're sorry. NOW!"

"So she is pregnant." Tony glared at him more before he heard feet walking towards him.

McGee.

"Uh...boss?" He asked the two, but they didn't break their glares at each other that they held with both of their eyes.

"NOT NOW MCGEE!" They both shouted at him, shifting their eyes slightly to the side before back at each other.

Gibbs started the conversation....argument...up again, "That's the only explanation, DiNozzo." Gibbs shrugged his shoulders, "You're trying to get me off the subject because you're afraid of the reality of the situation. You're afraid of the commitment involved not only to Ziva but to your own child."

McGee gaped, "Hold on...Ziva's pregnant?!" He asked in shock, but they both ignored him.

Tony's voice was low and angry, "You still haven't apologized, _Gibbs. _and I bet you won't. But next time you say something like that, think and realize who you're talking about. She's saved your life many times....don't you stoop so low as that....with _Ziva." _He threatened and then turned to McGee, "What do you want?" He demanded.

"Uh...the doctor said that Ziva was allowed to go back home...but you have to sign some forms off..." McGee fought to keep up with the senior field agent, who was now stalking through the hospital hallways towards where Ziva was being held almost prisoner.

"They say what happened to her?"

"Um..." He stuttered.

"Today isn't the day for 'UM!' probie!" Tony shouted, turning quickly on his heel, stopping short in front of him. He backed up a little before Tony started forwards again.

"Just what Ducky said." He confirmed, "High levels of stress and lack of oxygen to the brain caused her to..."

"Completely blackout and scare the shit out of me. Yeah, I got it, McGee." He nodded as he reached the nurses station. He banged his hand on the counter, "HEY!" he shouted, and they all snapped their heads up immediately, "Ziva David." He slowly said, and they all got wide eyes and rushed around before shouting to him that she would be out soon and shoving papers at him to sign.

Tony signed his name several times, or what looked like his name. He turned around and watched as Ziva's doctor helped her stand up, and then ran into the room. "I got her, thanks." He told him. He gave Ziva a kiss on the forehead and put his arm around her waist. "You ok?" He asked quietly. She smiled slightly.

"I am fine, Tony. I am just ready to go home."

"Then let's go, sweetcheeks." Tony led her out of the room, only to met by Gibbs, Abby, McGee and Ducky. Abby immediately hugged her.

"Oh Ziva!" She said. Ziva took her arm from around Tony and hugged her. "Are you ok? What did the doctor say? Is the baby ok?" Ziva looked dead into her eyes and then blinked.

"I am not pregnant, Abby." She said.

"So you lost it?" McGee spoke up. She was about to speak again when Tony interrupted.

"Look. She's fine. Not pregnant. I'm gonna take her home, she needs her rest." Gibbs only stared at Tony, who then returned the stare. "Come on _baby_, let's get you home." He said, not taking his eyes off of Gibbs. Tony began to walk down the hall, followed by Abby and McGee, and then Gibbs and Ducky. They reached the elevator and several people got out of it.

The ride was quiet for about a floor, until Tony tightened his grip on Ziva. She looked up at him. "Tony, I can stand on my own. You can let go of me." She instructed.

"Nope, when I let go of you, something happens." He said, not taking his eyes off of the silver doors. Ducky looked at Gibbs from their position in the back elevator. Gibbs only rolled his eyes. Ziva sighed, and then yawned. "You ok?" He asked, looking down at Ziva.

"Will you quit asking me that? I am fine." He smiled and leaned down towards her, never taking his grip off of her.

"You sure?" She looked up at him and he kissed her, letting his lips linger on hers for a second.

"I am very sure, Tony." She said. Tony stood up straight again, sending a quick glance back to his boss.

"Aww!" Abby grabbed her pink camera and pointed it at the couple, "Do it again for the camera!" She said.

"Abby." Gibbs said. The goth turned around and looked at him.

"Yes, Gibbs?" She asked.

"Give it." He demanded, and then held out his hand.

"Why? You don't know how to use it." She said. He narrowed her eyes at her and snatched the camera from her.

"Ok, you can borrow it." She said. The elevator dinged and the 6 got off of the elevator and walked towards the doors. Both Tony and Ziva felt their mouths drop when they neared the doors, for there were at least 50 or 60 people waiting for them. As soon as they entered the lobby, flashes blinded them through the glass.

"Anybody want to...go first?" Tony asked. McGee and Abby walked around them and opened the doors, forcing many of the reporters to move. Tony pulled Ziva as close as he could to his body and each of them shielded their own face. They finally managed to make it to one of the two Chargers and tony opened the door as questions were still being shouted at them. He shoved Ziva into the backseat and followed her, not noticing that Gibbs and Ducky were already in _that_ Charger. Tony let out a sigh and let his head fall back onto the seat.

"Guess you're not going home after all, _baby._" Gibbs mocked. He stepped on the gas, so hard that Ziva had to grab onto Tony to steady herself. She looked over at him and raised an eyebrow. Tony gritted his teeth together and looked at Gibbs, but held his tongue. That is, until Gibbs almost flipped the car at a red light.

"GIBBS, SHE JUST HAD A CONCUSSION!" He yelled.

"Tony..." Ziva said, putting her hand on top of his. He looked down at her.

"Yes _sweetheart_?" He asked.

"Hush." She said. Tony opened his mouth to speak again but she shook her head, so he didn't say anything. He stomped on the gas again, and it was Ducky's turn to speak.

"Jethro, it is not good for you to be driving like this with Ziva's condition." Ducky said. Gibbs looked at him.

"She wouldn't have a condition if it wasn't for DiNozzo." Gibbs said.

"DAMN IT GIBBS SHE CAN'T HELP IT!"

"She could if you didn't take her to that damn interview!" Gibbs yelled back. Tony looked down at Ziva, who had her hand over her stomach. He raised an eyebrow.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"Nothing, I am fine." She said. "Just feel a little sick to my stomach." Ducky turned around and looked at her from his seat.

"That is common after syncope." He said. "And you do look a little pale, your pupils are dilated. All symptoms." He said, and then smiled at her. "You will be back to normal in a few weeks, my dear."

"A few weeks?" Tony asked as Ziva drooped her eyelids closed and let her head fall against his shoulder. He pulled at one of her curls, absentmindedly, "Ziva, you gotta stay awake." He pleaded, and she fluttered her eyes open.

"I am so tired..." She moaned as Gibbs swerved around a corner. Tony had to grab onto everything in order to keep him from falling out the window....even though it was closed.

Tony was more than relieved when they finally reached NCIS. He opened the door for Ziva and helped her out of the car and into the building, avoiding the press. "I thought we were done with them." Tony commented.

"We were." Gibbs said. Tony held his tongue again, only because Ducky and Ziva were in the elevator with them. "McGee, set up the air mattress for Ziva in interrogation," Gibbs said. McGee nodded and went behind her desk. Tony sat her down in her chair.

"You need anything?" He asked quietly.

"Maybe some...asprin?" She asked.

"No my dear. It is best that you don't take any kind of medication." Ducky warned.

Tony bent down in front of her and shook her knee, "Hey, you okay?" he asked, and she rolled her eyes.

"You will not be if you ask me that question one more time." She gritted through her teeth.

He grinned, "Same old Ziva." He then reached behind him and pulled out a pair of sweat pants and a tan cami from her bag, "Here." He handed them to her, "Put these on...they're a helluva a lot comfier then that dress." He smiled as he stood up to his full form, placing the clothes in her lap. He looked her up and down, "Not that I'm complainin'." She smiled as Tony took her hand and grasped it tightly in his before pulling her up out of her seat. She wobbled just slightly and he quickly moved his hand position to around her waist, "Come on, let's get you changed while McHotair blows up the air mattress in interrogation." She laughed shortly before the nauseating feeling came roaring back up her stomach. She immediately stopped and swayed with nausea as a wave blew over her.

Tony tightened his grip on her and then looked quickly down at her, his eyes burning with concern, "You okay?"

She nodded, "I...I guess I am just so tired, Tony."

"But you can't sleep!" he protested "You'll go into a coma!"

"Not anymore." She shook her head, "Please, Tony." She said as he tried to follow her into the bathroom. She leaned up and pecked him quickly on the lips before disappearing, calling over her shoulder, "I will be out in no more then five minutes." And then door shut behind her.

* * *

Tony didn't see Ziva for another couple more hours, after she disappeared down to interrogation, where McGee graciously had set up Ziva's air mattress, moving the table and chairs up against the wall.

Gibbs had sent McGee on an errand while Tony was left to wander aimlessly through the NCIS corridors, a cup of tea in one of Ducky's mugs in one hand and a plate with a couple of cucumber, lettuce, and tomato sandwiches on them, made by Ducky himself. Well actually, it was Tony who constructed them, however it was Ducky's idea.

Tony paused in front of interrogation, knocked once, and then slowly opened the door, just a crack. Ziva lay completely still in bed, curled up in the middle, the covers pulled tightly around her, "Ziva?" He questioned, softly, looking only at her as he slowly closed the door behind him. She just groaned and then sat up, rubbing her eyes. They were still dilated, yet they were beautiful as always. She pushed the covers out of the way and then patted the bed next to her as she rubbed her eyes with her hand.

Tony carefully walked over and sat down on the mattress, as not to move it too much. He handed her the tea and then placed the plate of sandwiches in front of her, "From Ducky." He explained, shrugging, "I wanted a part in it but..."

"It does not matter who made it Tony, you delivered it." She smiled, taking a sip of her tea. She moaned in delight, "Thank you." She nodded, cupping the mug with both hands as she reveled in the heat flowing through her. He gently brushed the back of his hand up against her cheek, making her turn and stare at him strangely, "What?" she asked, slightly laughing.

"You seem to have more color back." He commented and she just nodded as she set the tea down on the ground and then reached over and grabbed the sandwich off of the plate, taking a bite of it. He watched her eat her sandwich in peace, shifting his position ever so often, "You know..." he started, "You really had me scared there for a moment."

"Why? Because I may be pregnant?"

"Are you?" He asked, sitting up, alert now. She laughed and shook her head.

"No!" She exclaimed, "I would have told you first, Tony." She smiled slightly and he let out a sigh of almost relief. He didn't notice the small look of hurt that flashed over her. _He probably would have left you if you were pregnant, Ziva. _She angrily thought to herself as she ate her sandwich.

"No, I'm talking about the interview."

"Oh." She simply said, "I do not remember."

"No, no, of course not. I understand." He nodded, "You got something wrong with your head David, and I'm not lying this time." He grinned, ruffling her hair. She just glared at him as she finished one sandwich.

She stared down at the sandwich she just picked up and turned it over in her hands. Tony noticed this, "Something wrong with the sandwich?" He asked, "You want me to cut the crust off or somethin'?"

"No...it is not that..." She sighed, "It is just..." She looked up towards nothing, yet away from Tony, "I swear that I saw my father, Tony."

"At the interview?" He asked, and she nodded.

"I believe so, since you told me that I did not visit Israel anytime." Tony looked down and then back and forth, his eyes darting as he searched for the answer to Ziva's dilemma. Then, he suddenly realized it. The man...in the back....that looked familiar....that must have been him! That meant that Eli David was in town. But why? And what did he want with his Ziva?

"Tony..." She softly said, still looking down, "I...am very tired." she admitted, and Tony nodded.

"Yeah." He agreed, and then grabbed the plate and reached over to grab the mug of tea off of the ground, "You need your rest." He went to stand up when he felt her tiny hand grip his arm.

"I meant with me." She smiled, and he sighed but grinned as he lay down next to her, setting down the mug and the plate on the ground. He immediately discarded his shirt and then crawled under the covers. Ziva crawled under the covers as well and immediately held onto Tony for nearly dear life. She buried her face into his chest as he stroked her back, twirling her curls with his fingers.

"Please don't do that again." He suddenly said, right as she was about to fall asleep. She opened them back up.

"Do what?" She questioned, obviously not understanding what he was getting at.

"Scare me like that. You've already done it twice..." He sighed, "I don't think I can take a third time."

She just smiled and leant up to look at him just as he turned his head to look at her. They both moved to their sides as Tony wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close to him, her hips connected to his. She smiled, "I will not, Tony." She said.

"Promise me?" He questioned, and she nodded, looking him deep in the eyes.

"I promise you."

He smiled slightly, "Good." He said as he leaned over and gave her a kiss. He held it for a couple of seconds before finally letting go. They moved back to their original position, with her head on his chest, his arms around her waist, as she fell fast asleep instantly.

Gibbs, in observation, watched the two with an almost admiration. Just by that exchange he could tell that they were never going to hurt each other, like he feared, and that they truly, deeply cared for one another. However, there was one thing that stuck with him besides the fact that they were breaking rule twelve.

Ziva seeing her father.

That meant one thing:

Vance was lying to him.

And this time, he had gone over the edge.

Big time.

* * *

Vance hung up his phone and quickly stood up from his desk. He straightened his suit just as his door opened. He walked over to it with his hand outstretched.

"Ah, Leon my friend. It is good to see you in person." Eli said. Vance smiled at him and shook his hand.

"And you Eli. Would you like to sit down?" Vance asked him.

"No, thank you, I would just like to see my daughter." Eli said.

"Alright." Vance said and led him out of his office. They went down the stairs and into the back elevator. "Dr. Mallard. This is Director Eli David of Mossad." He said. Ducky walked over to him and shook his hand.

"Well it is a pleasure to meet you, Director." Ducky said.

"You as well, Dr. Mallard." Eli said.

"I thought maybe that Ziva would be down here, Ducky, have you seen her?"

"I believe that Agent Gibbs instructed her to rest, Director, in the interrogation." Vance nodded.

"Ok, thank you."

"Oh, no problem. It was nice to meet you, Director David." Eli smiled and followed Vance out of autopsy. They finally reached the interrogation rooms, and after checking one of them, they knew this would have to be the other one. Vance knocked on the door.

Tony stirred when he heard the knock, but thought he only dreamed it, so he went back to sleep. He heard another knock and opened his eyes just as the door opened. He sat up quickly, waking Ziva, who then pulled the covers up to her chest due to the slight chill she felt when her partner sat up. She looked up at his expression. It wasn't a happy one. She too sat up, holding the cover to her chest. Then she saw them.

Their worst nightmare.

Not only Vance.

But Director Eli David.


	17. Chapter 17: Positive & Negative

Tony sat there and stared at the two men for what felt like several minutes, but was only several seconds. He cleared his throat and searched the room with his eyes for his t-shirt, which was on the other side of Ziva. He reached over her, grabbed it and slipped it over his head.

"I was not expecting to see my daughter naked in a bed with your agent, Leon." Eli said. Tony rolled his eyes and stood up from the mattress. He began to walk over to the directors, but then turned back to his lover.

"We're not naked. At least, I'm not naked. You naked, Zi?" He asked. Ziva only glared at him, for he was making her even more uncomfortable. He held out his hand, "Hello, you must be Director David. I'm Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo." He said with a grin, "...Very Special Agent." Eli shook his hand and then put them behind his back. Ziva reluctantly stood up and walked over to the group, standing very close to Tony.

"What are you doing here, Papa?" She asked him.

"Agent DiNozzo, do you think I could have a word with you...alone?" Eli asked, ignoring his daughter.

"Uh...well...I"

"I don't think it's a suggestion, Agent DiNozzo. Be in the squad room in five." Leon said and with that, he and Eli left the room. Eli stuck his head back in the door.

"Oh, and Ziva my dear...we will talk later." He left again, and Tony looked at Ziva and smiled.

"How you feeling?" She looked up at him.

"I am more concerned about you, Tony." She said and went to her bag. He chuckled.

"Why are you concerned about me?" He asked. "I'm fine."

"Yes, but I am not so sure you will be fine after a 'talk' to my father."

"Ah, I can handle him darlin'. Don't you worry your pretty little head about this." He walked over to her and pecked her on the lips. "Do you need anything? You hungry? Thirsty?" Ziva only shook her head. "Well ok then. I guess I've got to go have a pow-wow with your Daddy." Ziva raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"A what?" She asked. Tony laughed.

"Nevermind." He said and left the room.

"Tony!" He suddenly heard her call for him as he started down the hallway. He stopped and turned around as she came running out, jumping into his arms, pulling him close to her. He groaned on impact and then wrapped his arms around her as well, "Stay safe." She whispered into his ear, her sweet voice like birds singing, almost out of her hot breath, which she breathed against his skin as she pulled back. It was a short hug, but she was able to nearly feel his heart beat against her chest.

She pulled away, yet kept her arms around him, running her fingers through his hair as she looked deep into his eyes, their faces just inches apart from each other.

"I'll be fine." He nearly whispered, grinning. She felt his breath against her lips as he gave a small laugh.

She pulled him closer to her, in order for him to get the message, "My father has an immense amount of power...he is very much stronger than I am, even in his old age. Do not let that fool you."

"I'm not scared....if that's what you're thinking. Come on, I'm a DiNozzo. I don't get scared...." He paused, "Well besides when his insanely sexy and hot girlfriend passes out on stage." She blushed just slightly and he grinned, "I made you blush."

She just pressed her lips up against his. Right as Tony was about to kiss her back, she pulled back, resting her forehead against his, her eyes slightly closed, "Just...do not let him see any sign of weakness."

He lowered his tone to a whisper, "He's known my weakness for a long time, Zi."

"What?" She asked, confused.

He grinned, "You." And then he kissed her again, this time pulling at her lips more hungrily, the kiss quickly turning passionate as he brought his lips up and then pulled back, letting them linger on hers. He stared into her eyes as he slowly pulled back, holding onto her hand as long as he could before disappearing down the hallway.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Once Tony entered the squadroom, still slightly hard from Ziva, it was amazing what the woman could do to him, it really was, Eli met him immediately.

They said nothing as they entered the elevator again and then they led him out of the Navy yard and down the street. For once, the press wasn't out there ready to bombard them with questions. But then again, he wasn't with Ziva, "Tell me Agent DiNozzo, you drink tea?"

Tony shrugged his shoulders and nodded, "Only with Ziva."

He just nodded as he turned the corner and walked over to a vendor outside just a litlte bit away from NCIS. He ordered a tea and then a coffee for Tony, who just widened his eyes at him, "I would have ordered tea." He said as he handed him the cup of coffee.

"My treat. If my daughter is so in love with you, why should I not treat you with respect and kindness as well?" He questioned, sipping his tea as he paid for the drinks.

Tony just stared at him as he carefully popped the lid of the coffee and then poured in cream and sugar. He stirred it up and then put the top back on, taking a sip, "Walk with me." He said as he started away. Tony had to break into a light jog to catch up with him, "You have feelings for my daughter, Agent DiNozzo?"

"Tony, call me Tony." He said.

"Short for Anthony." He commented, "Italian?"

"Yes." He smiled, "6 foot 2 of Italian blood right here." He pointed towards himself.

He just nodded and then stopped. Tony didn't notice for a while, but then stopped when he heard his name being called, "Anthony." He firmly said, and he stared at him, waiting for him to continue, "You are Italian...you are not Israeli....you are Christian, right?"

"Yes..." He nodded, slowly, confused. What was he getting at?

He nodded, "You are Italian, Christian, and I understand you have a history of being...ah, what is in the word in America?" he pondered for a moment, "A player?"

Tony let his mouth drop for a little, "What's your point?"

"You are all wrong for my daughter, Agent DiNozzo."

Tony took a threatening step towards him. He didn't care that he was Director of Mossad. He didn't care about what Ziva said. None of that mattered now, "Maybe I've changed."

"How did you convince her to fall in love with you?" He questioned, "My daughter deserves better. I heard it was you that got them both into the mess with the press...."

"It wasn't either of our faults." He muttered through gritted teeth, "The press was onto us. Wasn't my fault. Wasn't Ziva's fault."

"Her feelings for you have gotten into the way of her training."

"Excuse me? How?" He demanded.

"She should be able to defend herself over you."

"Over me?" He gaped, "Excuse me?!" Tony was getting upset...quickly. Director David needed to stop. He knew he needed to.

"She should have been able to defend herself over you, yet, for some reason, she still loves you. What did my daughter do to deserve such abuse?"

Tony balled his hands up in fists, "I do NOT abuse Ziva!" He shouted, "You think I would ever do that?! I would never do that to any girl, much less a _woman _like Ziva. You honestly believe that I am the kind of person that would hurt her at all, even emotionally? Every thought is centered around her and only her. I love her. Don't you dare accuse me of that again." His eyes were murderous. He truly hated her father. How could he believe that?

"I did not believe it. But now I truly believe that you care for her." Tony gaped.

"That was a test?"

He shrugged his shoulder, "In some ways." He nodded, "Though you must feel special, Anthony."

"And why's that?" He asked, "Didn't fail your 'test'?" He scoffed sarcastically.

"No." He shook his head, "You are the only man who has gotten the chance to just sleep with Ziva in her bed."

_Seriously? _He thought. _That's impossible... _Tony opened his mouth to speak when his phone rang. He put up a finger to signal that he needed a minute as he looked down at the caller ID: Ziva.

"I gotta answer this." He said before turning around and picking up the phone. He walked a little bit before he spoke into the phone. "Hey Zi."

_"Tony! Are you ok?"_ He chuckled.

"I'm fine, sweetheart. Please don't worry about me, it's not good for you." Tony replied. He looked up at Eli, who still had his back to him.

_"What is he asking you?"_ Ziva asked.

"Just a few questions, like my background and stuff. Religion..that kind of thing." Tony said, he let out a sigh and then spoke again, softly, to make certain the Director didn't hear him. "He wanted to know how I _made_ you fall in love with me." Tony could _hear_ her mouth fall open. She went into speaking rapid Hebrew. "Whoa, whoa Ziva!" He said.

_"I cannot control destiny, Tony. And neither can you."_ She said, after taking a breath.

"He thinks that we're completely wrong for each other, because of our different backgrounds and cultures."

_"Tony...please do not let his words affect you."_ Ziva begged. _"He is trying drive us away from each other. He has done it before."_

"He questioned my 'player' history. He actually got the word right."

_"You play basketball?"_ Ziva asked. Tony chuckled into the phone.

"Listen babe, I've got to get back."

_"Tony call me in 10 minutes, if you do not I will kill you."_

"Alright Zi. I..." He stopped. "I'll talk to you later." He said. He hung up the phone and walked back over to the director. "Sorry about that sir, that was Gibbs." He lied. Eli laughed.

"How long have you been calling Agent Gibbs 'babe' Anthony?" Tony chuckled nervously.

"You heard me, huh?" Eli nodded and put his hand on Tony's shoulder.

"So if she called you that means she probably wants you back, yes?" He led him down the street a little.

Tony stepped in front of him, stopping him dead in his tracks. "Director, I'm sorry that you don't think I'm worthy enough for your daughter. But I love her and I never have and I never will lay a hand on her. So I want you to tell me now that you won't do anything that will seperate us. Because, I swear to you, sir, I'll find her."

"Anthony, the truth is that I do not trust you. But, maybe over time, that will change." Eli said and then walked around him, back to the Navy Yard.

"Welcome back, Eli." Vance greeted him and then took him up the stairs, Tony guessed to MTAC. He walked in the squad room, gave McGee a half smile and a glare at Gibbs, and then looked at Ziva's desk.

She wasn't there, but something else was.

_Flowers. _Tony furrowed his eyebrows and read the card.

_"To the most beautiful woman in the world. Love, you-know-who." _

"McObserve, did you see who brought these?"

"Yes." McGee said, not looking up at him.

"Who?" Tony asked.

"A flower delivery guy." He said. Tony rolled his eyes.

"Where is Ziva?" He asked. McGee spoke up again.

"Down with Ducky. Director Vance wanted her to get checked out, just to make sure everything is ok." Tony nodded and walked to the back elevator. He got off at autopsy and was met by Ziva. She smiled and hugged him tightly, pushing him back into the elevator. She then pressed her lips on his. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close to him. When the elevator doors closed, he broke the kiss to flip the switch. The elevator came to a halt.

"Tony, I love them. How did you know that was my favorite flower?"

"What?"

"Lilly of the Valley. The flowers you bought me." Tony chuckled. He kissed her again and then just held her.

"I didn't send those." He admitted. "But I'll take the credit." He smiled and kissed her again, but she broke it quickly and walked to the other side of the elevator.

"If you did not send them, then who did?" She asked.

"I don't know, sweetcheeks." He shrugged. "Must be your other boyfriend."

"Tony, I do not have another boyfriend." She smiled at him and kissed him again.

"Looks like you've got a secret admirer." Tony said. He smiled at her, but when she turned around he let it fade. He finally had her, and he was _going_ to have her all to himself. He didn't plan to share with _anybody._I think you should talk to him." Ziva suddenly said.

"

"Who?" He asked, "Flower boy?"

She laughed, "No...Gibbs."

"Why?" He questioned.

"Because it is obvious that you two are mad about something." She looked at him, "And you need to resolve it."

"Aw, come on babe!" he groaned.

She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose as she closed her eyes, "Tony..." She started, "That is another reason that you need to make up with Gibbs....the 'nicknames' are very caring, Tony, but they need to go. So please make up with Gibbs. Besides..." She shrugged, "The faster you make up, the less headslaps you will receive."  
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
_"Boss, could I..." Tony started, "Talk to you for a second?" He shook his head and then looked down at the counter before adjusting his tie and putting on his best DiNozzo grin, "Hey boss! Just...gotta...wanna use your elevator?" He groaned and muttered angrily to himself. Why was this so hard? He looked back into the mirror, "Hey boss, I kinda need to talk to you. You see, Ziva doesn't really like those nicknames that I call her and..."

"Neither do I." Tony quickly turned around and came face to face with his boss, who was leaning up against the opposite wall of the men's bathroom.

"Umm...when did you get in here?" He demanded and Gibbs shrugged as he checked his watch.

"About...ten minutes." He crossed his arms again. "How much she bribe you?" He questioned, and Tony glared at him.

"Excuse me?"

"No sex for two weeks? Or one week?" He questioned and Tony just glared more at him. This was just making him even madder at him.

"She didn't bribe me anything. Just say you're sorry."

"You first."

Tony spread his arms wide, "What is there to be sorry for?" He demanded, incredulously.

Gibbs stood up from where he was leaning up against the wall and walked slowly towards him. He was greeted by a slap on the back of the head. Tony winced, "What was that for?"

"For calling Ziva 'babe' in front of me." He slapped him again, "For kissing her in the elevator....in front of me." He slapped him again, "For sleeping together in interrogation." He slapped him yet again, "For yelling at me in the car after I saved both of your asses from the press." He slapped him twice.

"Why'd you slap me twice?" He demanded.

"_Both_ of your asses." He reiterated.

He raised his hand again and Tony braced himself for impact when he finally had had enough, "Stop." He demanded, "Look I know that I did some things that...weren't so great in the past twenty-four hours..."

Gibbs laughed, though it was rather ruthless sounding, "Oh ya think, DiNozzo?"

"Fine. I'm _sorry. _Your turn."

Gibbs just got up close to him and then slapped him twice on the back of the head. Tony winced but didn't even bother to ask what it was for since it was already done, "Don't apologize...sign of weakness." He said.

"Then what was the other slap for?" He asked as he watched Gibbs turn to walk away.

"Making me say I'm sorry too, DiNozzo." He said as he exited the bathroom.  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

About an hour later, Tony sat in the squad room alone. Gibbs was up with the directors, McGee was on a dinner run, and Ziva was in the restroom. Tony grinned at himself and breifly thought about joining her, but that thought was ruined when he looked up and saw those _flowers_ on her desk. He sucked through his teeth for a couple of seconds and then stood up, walking over to her desk. He read the card again, and then tore it up into confetti. He picked the flowers up, vase and all, and headed towards the back elevator.

"Heya Abs!" He said happily.

"Oh Tony they're beautiful! You shouldn't have." She said, taking the flowers from him.

"Uh, I didn't Abby." He said with a chuckle.

"Oh. They for Ziva?"

"Yes." Tony said.

"Aww that's so sweet!" She jumped up and down in delight.

"Well, not really, you see, I uh...I'm not the one who got them for her."

"Well who did?"

"That's what I need you for." He said with a grin. "I want to know who mystery flower man is."

"Do you_ know_ how busy I am?"

"Yes." He sat the flowers down on the counter. "But please? For your favorite Special Agent?"

"For Gibbs?" Tony let his smile fade.

"Ok, for your second favorite Special Agent?"

"Why does McGee want mystery flower man's name?"

"That hurts Abby." He said.

"Ok,_ maybe_ I can have it for you tomorrow." Abby said, pulling on a rubber glove. "Now go and leave me to my work." She looked down at the flowers. "And my extra work." Tony smiled and left the lab.

Tony returned to his desk and smiled when he saw Ziva back at hers.

"Hey Zi, how you feeling?" He asked.

"I am fine. Where have you been?"

"Oh, around." He said. "Where is McGoo? I'm starving."

"Where are the flowers, Tony?"

"Why, you miss Mystery Flower Man?" She smiled.

"I do not miss Mystery Flower Man, I miss the Mystery Flowers." He smiled and started to speak again, when McGee strolled into the squad room.

"Where have you been, McLate? I'm starving!"

"Like Lee Marvin, I know." He let out a sigh and sat the food on his desk. "I had to make another stop." McGee said. He picked up a brown paper bag and sat it on Ziva's desk.

"What is this, McGee?" Ziva asked him.

"Gibbs made me." McGee said and then returned to the food, passing out the meals.

"A pregnancy test?!" Ziva said. Tony stopped eating, dropped his sandwich, and practically ran over to Ziva's desk. "Gibbs! I do not need a pregnancy test!" Gibbs smirked and looked at the Israeli.

"It's the first way to be sure, before going to the doctor." He said proudly.

"I am not pregnant!" She said. She then pulled open her desk drawer and threw the test in it, slamming it shut. "I am not taking that." She defended. Tony, not having any words to say, returned to his desk. He glared at the boss for the rest of the night, until 2100h when he left. Tony looked at Ziva and then followed the silver haired man, slipping into the elevator with him. Tony flipped the switch.

"Gibbs, why did you do that?" He said. Gibbs smirked.

"I just need to see if I need to start looking at personal files, DiNozzo." Gibbs replied.

"If she was pregnant, are you saying you'd fire her?"

"No, but she'd be put on another team and assigned desk work."

"She said she's not pregnant, Gibbs. I believe her and so should you."

"Don't believe what you're told. Always double check. This is my way of double checking." Tony narrowed his eyes at him. "You seem to all of a sudden not want to tell me the truth. I've gotta figure it out."

"We are telling you the truth." Tony said. Gibbs nodded and flipped the switch.

"Ok." He said. Nothing else was said when the elevator reached the lobby. Gibbs got off and Tony rode it back to the squad room. He looked around the sqaud room, and it was empty again.

He stared at the drawer where Ziva put the pregnancy test for several seconds. He looked around the squad room to make sure that Ziva wasnt in the room and when he didn't see her, he opened the drawer and stuck the pregnancy test in his pocket. He closed the drawer just as Ziva walked in with a cup of tea for herself.

"What are you doing at my desk, Tony?" She asked him. He smiled up at her and stood up, his face inches from hers.

"Waiting for you." He whispered, and with that, he pulled her into a passionate kiss. He finally broke it and they rested their foreheads against each other. "Nobody is here. Mens restroom?" He asked. He smelled so good and looked so sexy, that Ziva couldn't resist. She smiled at him seductively and walked toewards the restroom. Tony happily ran and caught up with her, grabbing her arm and pulling her into the bathroom.

As if it was routine, she was against the wall and they were pulling at clothes. Several minutes passed and Tony was shirtless and Ziva was down to her bra and panties. She ran her hand up this thigh, to start on his belt, but stopped when she felt the box in his pocket. She broke the kissing and looked up at him.

"What is that?" She asked. Tony breathed for a minute before answering her. He pulled it out of his pocket and held it in his large hands.

"I gotta know, Zi." He said quietly. Ziva looked at him.

"I am not taking that test." She replied. She slipped her shirt back over her head and started to leave the bathroom when Tony stopped her.

"Please." He said. Ziva looked at him again and finally gave in, going into one of the stalls. Tony paced outside of the stall and let out a sigh when she came out. "How long does it take to pee on a stick?!" He asked. Ziva rolled her eyes and snatched the box from Tony, who was still holding it as if _he_ was taking the test.

"We have to wait five minutes." She said and threw the box in the trash. Tony looked at his watch.

"Damn, that's a long time." Ziva sat on the counter and crossed her legs. Tony walked over to her and ran his hands up her thighs. "But I know what we can do." He said with a grin. He put both of his hands on each side of her face and kissed her passionately.

Tony jumped away from her as if she was a giant snake. He was slightly relieved when Ziva got up and walked over to the man, who always seemed to walk in when she was in there. "Hi again. What is this? Three times?" He smiled at her and nodded.

"Hey how you doing? The women's bathroom is right over there. Use that one. Nobody's here." Tony said, and then closed the door in his face, turning the lock. "We've really got to remember to lock this." He said, pointing at it.

"Tony..." Ziva said quietly.

"Yeah sweetheart?" He asked. She returned to her posistion on the counter. He walked over to her and stood in front of her.

"What am I...or _we_ going to do if I am pregnant?"

"We would handle it, Zi. You would make a great mother."

"Tony, if I got pregnant I am sure that my father would have me killed. Because I cannot be an assassin if I have a baby."

"I wouldn't let that happen." Tony whispered. "Nothing is going to happen to you." He lifted her chin and made her look him in the eyes. "Nothing is going to happen to you." He repeated. She nodded as much as she could with Tony's finger under her chin. He kissed her gently on the lips and pulled her into a tight hug. It was just what she needed. She fought her tears and held onto him. Tony looked at his watch again. "It's time." He whispered and let go of her. He moved out of the way and she scooted off of the counter. He grabbed her hand and they intertwined their fingers. He let her walk into the stall since they both couldn't fit in it. She walked out and they looked at it together.

"Negative. It's negative!" Tony said. Ziva let out a big sigh of relief and then smiled up at him. Tony put the test on the counter and then grabbed her face, planting a kiss on her lips. She deepened the kiss, and they stood there for several minutes. They finally broke and Tony picked up the test again. He pulled a pen out from his pants pocket and drew another line on it.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"Would you have that same reaction if it was positive?" Tony asked, and then showed it to her. She sighed again.

"I do not know Tony." She admitted. Tony smiled and kissed her on the forehead. He chucked the check towards the trash can and put the pen back in his pocket as they started towards the door that led out of the bathroom. They left the bathroom and walked into the squad room, both unaware that Tony had completely missed the trash can on his throw.

"Hey..." He nudged her, "You wanna celebrate?"

"Celebrate what?" She questioned, and he grinned.

"You...not being pregnant." he glanced up at the security camera and slightly frowned before an idea hit him, "Hey. You need a shower. Let's go." He pulled her arm towards the back elevator and she followed him, a dopey smile placed on her face. How come he was able to securely pull down her walls when she was around him? Sometimes it just wasn't fair.

Once they were down in the showers, Tony checked to make sure that no one was around. Once the coast was clear, they started ripping each other's clothes off as Tony turned on the water.

Tony licked his lips as she discarded the last remaining article of clothing from her body. His hands were immediately on her, running them up and down her entire body, "Damn it Ziva..." he muttered, "You have no idea what you do to me." She looked down and smirked as she tapped the side of his cheek, leaning up towards him.

"I can see what I do to you." She grinned. She barely let Tony have enough time to smile back as she nearly shoved him into the shower, the warm water cascading down their backs as her lips collided with his. The first couple of seconds were spent with just them running their hands over each others bodies, as if they had never felt the others in their entire existence. Tony barely registered the abnormal void around her neck as he ran his hands up and down her. It was like she was a drug. He hated it.

Then finally, Tony had had enough of the just touching as he shoved her up against the wall, the only sounds coming from the shower the water smacking against the tile as well as Ziva's insane screaming.

Director Eli David let the elevator doors slide open as he adjusted his jacket and started into the squadroom. Realizing that neither Ziva nor Tony were there, he decided to check in the other rooms, for he needed to urgently speak to Ziva.

Coming up to the bathrooms, he paused in front of them and then decided that he would look into them, just in case. He checked in the women's and then closed the door after he poked his head in to find it completely empty. He moved onto the men's restroom and opened the door, poked his head in, and was about to close it when he noticed a little white stick on the ground as well as a very recognizable necklace. Looking around he walked into the restroom and then bent down and picked up the two items.

One of them he recognized as Ziva's Star of David, and he cursed her for taking it off. Though, as he looked at the clasp, it seemed as if it was broken. However, the next item he picked up scared him and then made him insanely angry. Whether he was angrier at Ziva or Tony, he didn't know, but he growled as he stood up.

It was a pregnancy test.

And it was positive.

_**Hey everybody...first we'd like to say thanks for all of the reviews, they inspire us! Second, we try to be as accurate as we can with things such as pregnancy tests and fainting symptoms. So we do actually look these things up, and as far as the pregnancy test...and we know there are many kinds out there...and there is actually one that only takes about 5 minutes. But this is what we came up with. We hope you enjoyed it and please review! :)**_


	18. Chapter 18: Get Away

**Hey guys! No, you didn't read incorrectly, we really **_**did**_** just update National Enquirer. You may want to go back and read a few chapters (like we had to) to catch up to this point. Sorry it took forever, but when we had fresh, new ideas for new stories we kinda...forgot! Haha. But here it is! And pleaseee be patient with us as far as updates for A Place In This World, National Enquirer, Look After You, and Force of Nature, **_**and**_** not to mention our "own" stories, Recurrence and One Shot, so that's 5 stories. We're trying, so stick with us. :)**

**Enough of the rambling, so enjoy and review! :)**

Eli David hurried down the stairs, taking a couple at a time, trying to find his daughter.

He needed to have a talk with her.

The real reason he had been looking for her was lost; all he could think about was the pregnancy test he held in his hands as well as the Star of David necklace he gripped even tighter.

He knew that she had to be _somewhere _in this building, he just didn't...know...where. He had checked nearly everywhere, but he had yet to find either Ziva or Tony. He had just finished checking Abby's lab and autopsy, and he was now starting down to the basement, where the bio hazard showers were. He knew that they were probably not there either, but he had searched the rest of the building and found no trace of them.

However, as he neared the showers, he paused, hearing the sound of water running from one of the showers.

But that wasn't the sound that particularly bugged him; it was the moaning and screaming of pure ecstasy that didn't particularly amuse him.

Only because he knew it was her....his daughter.

And he knew it was him...Anthony DiNozzo.

The supposed father of her child.

That she was _pregnant _with.

And they were celebrating over each other?

He felt the blood boil in his veins as he took in a deep breath, stepping forwards and into the shower area.

There was one shower that was running, and it was obvious that that was where Ziva and Tony were.

He prepared himself.

Was he ready to see his daughter, naked, in the shower with Tony?

He didn't entirely think so, but as she let out a satisfied, "Tony..." and as he looked down at the pregnancy test in his hands, he realized what needed to be done.

He stepped in front of the shower and ripped the curtain off, revealing the two.

Ziva was being shoved up against the wall, Tony's hands on her hips, his lips attached to her neck, her legs wrapped around his waist as the water cascaded down the NCIS Agent's back.

She stopped and snapped her head so hard to the side that Tony's face got smacked with her wet hair, "Father..." She whispered, quickly detaching herself from Tony's waist, wrapping her arms tightly around him in an attempt to cover up her body from sight.

"Get out here." He finally said after a moment or two of silence.

Tony and Ziva looked at each other before Tony, whose eyes were murderous, spoke, "She needs some _clothes." _he spat.

Eli moved his eyes to the side, staring down at the pile of clothes that was sitting there. Bending down, he pulled out her cargo pants, her shirt, her underwear, and her black lacy bra. He grimaced at the object before motioning her towards him, "Now, Ziva."

She shared a look with Tony before she slowly detached herself from his body. She hurried out of the shower, however, picking up the speed as she grabbed her clothes from her father, dressing quickly.

She barely pulled her sweater over her head before she was being tugged roughly at the arm. Her eyes locked with Tony's as her father pulled her a couple of feet. She finally found her own feet, stopping abruptly and tugging back, "No." She said as she watched Tony quickly dress.

They'd have to catch up later and finish what they had started.

Definitely.

"Ziva, you are coming with me." He growled and Tony pulled the t-shirt over his head, the water dripping down his body and turning parts of the shirt darker, from where he had been in the shower.

"Why?" she demanded.

"You need to explain some things with me."

"You can explain them right here." Tony spoke up, stepping into the conversation, literally, and wrapping an arm around Ziva's waist, holding her to him, "She'll tell me anyways."

Eli narrowed his eyes at Tony, "Agent DiNozzo." he shortly said, "You have two seconds to get your hands off of my daughter."

"One...two." Tony grinned and Eli continued to stare at him, "Whatcha gonna do?"

"Tony." Ziva hissed, leaning into his embrace.

"Fine then." Eli reached into his jacket pocket, "I suppose that my daughter will tell you what I am about to tell her anyways." He presented the pregnancy test from his pocket and held it out, "I would like to know the explanation to this."

Tony and Ziva just stared at each other, "It is negative." Ziva finally said, her eyes narrowing at Tony. Tony knew that look. He was in trouble. And he knew that. Unfortunately.

"That is not what the test says."

"She isn't pregnant." Tony cut in, "We've been very safe when we've...uh..." he felt Ziva's hand on the one he had wrapped around her waist, squeezing his pressure point. She watched his face cringe up for a second or two, and she gave a small smirk in satisfaction.

"I do not believe that this is not real." Eli repeated.

"Well believe it, _sir," _He put an emphasis on 'sir', "Because she's not. Don't worry, your baby girl isn't gonna have a child. She isn't gonna start a family like a normal woman should, just like you wanted."

Eli narrowed his eyes at him, "I do not think that I appreciate your tone."

"Well I think that Tony is right." Ziva finally said, as Tony went to open his mouth again, "And I believe that you have no control over my life at this point. The _press _has more control over my life than you do. I care more about their opinion than yours, so please, would you mind leaving? I would like to get a good nights rest tonight."

It was only then that Director David realized he could not win at his own game.

That he started.

"Then I will go." He put the test back into his pocket before his fingers touched the gold chain that was there as well. He pulled out her Star of David and carefully placed it in her hand, "Take this one." He nodded, looking her in her shocked eyes before shoving his hands into his pockets and turning to walk away.

Ziva David just stood there, staring at her necklace, leaning in Tony's embrace as Tony watched him leave.

"Wow, he gave up fast." Tony whistled.

"Too fast..." Ziva mumbled, nearly to herself as she twisted the chain through her fingers.

As Eli David entered the elevator, he spotted the folded up tabloid that had been carelessly thrown into the corner, his daughter's face on the front.

It was only then that he realized.

He knew how to win.

* * *

The two set up the air mattress in the middle of the bullpen, almost as if it was a ritual now.

Tonight was Tony's turn to put the sheets on the bed, ones that McGee had finally taken to get washed.

Ziva sat cross legged on top of her desk, now changed into her pajamas, which consisted of a pair of black sweatpants and one of Tony's over-sized t-shirts.

She could smell his scent off of the shirt and she reveled in it even though her mind was elsewhere.

Tony finished and looked up at her, staring, taking in her form. Her damp hair was draped over one shoulder, her head turned towards the window as she looked out over DC, the t-shirt hanging loosely from her form.

He looked around and then walked quietly over to her, "Hey...you okay?" He put a tentative hand on her knee and shook it, causing her to look at him. He read worry, that was one that was definite in her eyes, and she almost looked...haunted.

She looked at his eyes and then looked back to whatever she was originally looking at before. His eyes traveled to her hand, which was still clutching the necklace.

"You haven't put this back on." He commented, poking it gently with one finger.

She looked down at it and then back to her position, "Yes." She nodded, "I have not."

He stared at her some more, the worry getting worse as she darted her eyes back and forth, "Why?" He tentatively questioned.

She sighed and looked down at her lap, closing her eyes slightly before opening them back up again, "I...believe...that my father..." She took in a deep breath as she looked back up at him, "Is not finished. He let go of that situation entirely too easily. Normally, my father would have at least made me take the test again I just..." She trailed off as she sighed once more, "...Tony..."

It was his turn to sigh as he took her carefully in his arms, "Come here..." She fell into his embrace faster than he expected to, and he leaned back slightly before wrapping his arms around her, "What are you worried about?" He softly asked.

"I just..." She took in a deep breath, "Have this feeling...that something terrible is going to happen."

He rubbed her back soothingly, kissing the crown her head, "Nothing's going to happen, sweetheart." He mumbled into her hair, smelling the faint shampoo. He hugged her tighter, "I promise you."

* * *

Once Director Eli David got back to his hotel, he crossed the floor and opened up the bedside table drawer, pulling out the phone book.

He flipped to the back and skimmed through a couple of names, flipping some pages before he finally made it to the number he was trying to find.

Pulling out his cell phone, he sighed and typed in the number, his finger hesitating over the 'send' button.

Was he really going to do this?

To his own daughter?

Part of him felt that he must.

To teach her never to do something like this again.

To tell him the truth.

If this was the way that she was supposed to learn, that that was the way that he was going to teach her.

He sighed and pressed the button, putting the phone up to his ear. It rang once before someone picked up, _"Hi, thank you for calling the National Enquirer, my name is Jackie, how can I help you?"_

"Yes..." He started, "I have a...tip that you might be interested in."

_"Regarding?" _

"NCIS Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo and Mossad Liaison Officer Ziva David." He finally said, after waiting a couple of seconds of silence.

There was a pause on the other side of the line before the woman spoke, "_Tony and Ziva?" _She asked.

"Yes." He confirmed.

"_Wow!" _She smiled, "_They're my like...favorite! Seriously! Okay, okay, what's the scoop? And do you have proof of whatever it is?"_

"I do, I will send it in as soon as I can." He nodded.

"_Well what is it?" _She excitedly said, "_Tell me!" _

"Ziva David is carrying Agent DiNozzo's child. And I have a pregnancy test to prove it."

* * *

Tim McGee walked, no, _ran_ into the squad room the next morning, a copy of _National Enquirer _in rolled up in his left hand. He looked down at his watch, learning that the time was 0627h.

Gibbs would be in soon.

So, he had little time.

Little time to show Tony and Ziva the "news" on the front page this morning. He all but threw is backpack at his desk and leaned down on Tony's side of the air mattress, shaking him gently. Tony groaned and pulled the woman next to him closer, ignoring Timothy's constant whisper of his name, "Tony, get up!"

Tony only nuzzled further into Ziva's neck and mumbled, "Make him go away."

Tim rolled his eyes and stood to his full form, "I can hear you, Tony." He kicked the mattress, "Get. Up."

Tony let out a deep sigh and regrettably let Ziva go as he sat up, rubbing his face with both hands, "_What_ is so damn important, McAlarm?" McGee held the magazine in front of the Federal Agent's face.

"That." He said plainly and then squatted down to Tony's level as Tony read, "What do you think Gibbs is going to do you, DiNozzo?"

Tony shook his head in disbelief and then stared at him, "He's not gonna do anything McGee, you wanna know why? This isn't true. It's bull shit."

McGee furrowed his eyebrows together, "There's a picture of the test in there, Tony."

Ziva didn't want to sit up, she really didn't, but the conversation the boys were currently having sparked her interest. She knew it was a magazine article, and it was about them, but that was nothing unusual. When she heard the word 'test', it suddenly _became_ unusual. She sat up and leaned over, reading what Tony was reading.

Tony let his head fall into his hand and rubbed his eyes with his finger and thumb as Ziva took the magazine from him, "McGee, where did you get this?" She demanded.

"It's on every news stand this morning, Ziva." McGee said plainly.

"I need coffee." Tony said through his teeth and quickly stood, leaving McGee and Ziva in the squad room.

Tim stood up again, looking down at the Israeli as she thumbed through the magazine, shaking her head in shock. "So you're not pregnant?"

Ziva looked up at him and narrowed her eyes, "No." She said plainly.

McGee was overly confused, "It says that your DNA was on the pregnancy test, Ziva."

"Do not believe what you read, McGee." She snapped.

"And Gibbs wanted me to get you..."

"Enough!" Ziva yelled, folding the blanket that she and Tony slept under, she then sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose, "I am sorry, I just..."

McGee walked around the mattress and put one arm around her, "Everything will be okay, Ziva." He said, and let her go as he walked to his desk. Ziva picked up the air mattress and took it to it's 'storage spot', a broom closet near the squad room. She walked back to her desk and collected the clothes she intended on wearing that day, and into the women's restroom to change before the rest of the agency got to the office.

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became.

Her own _father_ was the only one that knew about the 'fake pregnancy'.

And he _sold_ it to a magazine.

She knew why he did it. To 'teach' her a lesson about following the 'rules of Mossad'.

She exited the bathroom and walked back to her desk, spotting her boyfriend as she did so. She huffed and sat down, and he didn't even look in her direction.

In fact, _nobody_ looked in her direction.

Meanwhile, Tony's blood boiled. He wanted to get his SIG out of the drawer, go to wherever Eli David was located at the moment and shoot him. _How_ could he do that?

That was one thing Tony couldn't understand.

He felt his fist curl up into a ball as The sat there, trying his best not to look up at Ziva. He imagined that she was feeling the same he was, if not, worse.

They couldn't leave the building before, and now, they _really_ couldn't leave the building.

He sighed at the thought. He just wanted things back to normal. He was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard McGee speak, "Morning Gibbs."

"DiNozzo, David. Elevator. Now." Gibbs said, standing at the entrance of the squad room. Tony looked up at Gibbs as he stood, walking side by side with Ziva as they walked the long 15 steps to the elevator. They still avoided eye contact.

The doors opened and closed, Gibbs flipping the switch as soon as it started to descend. He pulled the magazine out of his back pocket and tapped it once for dramatic effect, aiming his stare right at Ziva, "Care to explain?"

Ziva looked at the boss, down at the floor, and then back up at him, "It is not true, Gibbs."

"Why do they claim to have a pregnancy test and DNA to prove it then, Ziva?" Gibbs asked.

"My father."

Gibbs paused for a second, needing to clarify, "Your father did this?"

"He wants to teach me a lesson." She replied.

Tony scoffed, and it cause Gibbs to turn to him, "What do you have to say about this, DiNozzo?"

Tony narrowed his eyes at him, "Eli is a bastard."

For the first time in 30 minutes or more, Ziva looked at Tony. She felt Gibbs' glare on her and she looked away from Tony, and into the blue eyes of Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Gibbs sighed, and for the first time, he really had nothing to say. He flipped the switch, and the elevator jerked into motion. The three returned to their desks, and Tony still didn't look at Ziva, and Ziva still didn't look at Tony.

The squad room was unusually quiet, the team worked on cold cases that needed to be filed. It was about 1342h when Tony spoke, or his _stomach_ spoke. "Going to lunch, Gibbs." He said, and without looking at Ziva, promptly left the squad room.

Tony realized that he couldn't actually 'go' to lunch, for the reporters were right outside of NCIS, waiting for him to step out of that door. He knew he had only one option, the break room. Thankfully, the room only had two agents in it, and they both got up and left as soon as Tony walked in. He put a dollar into the machine, and, of course, it spit it back out.

He tried again.

And again.

And again.

"Damn it!" He yelled, and was slightly startled when he felt soft hands on his, taking the dollar from him. Ziva put the dollar in and his chips dispensed. He looked down at her and got his chips out, "You gotta show me how you do that." He said softly. Ziva followed him to one of the table and sat down beside him.

"We need to talk."

Tony sighed, "I know." He mumbled.

It was quiet for a _while_. Finally Ziva sighed and spoke again, "My father was wrong, Tony."

"Yep." Was Tony's reply. Ziva slowly turned her head towards him, narrowing her eyes.

"Is that all you are going to say?"

He shrugged one shoulder, "What do you want me to say, Zi?"

Ziva gaped, "That you were wrong!"

"Wrong for what?"

"Tony _you_ were the one that took a blue pen and drew a line on that pregnancy test, making it positive! You are the reason this happened!"

He stood from the table, "How are you blaming this on me?!"

Ziva stood as well, crossing her arms as and stared at him, "If you had not done that, then my father would not have found it, found _us_, and he would not have called the magazine!"

Tony took a cautious step towards her and spoke through his teeth, "This is _not_ my fault." Ziva narrowed her eyes again, looking directly into his green ones. He opened his mouth to speak but changed his mind, walking away from her quickly.

"Tony!" Ziva called, but he kept walking.

Ziva sighed, sat down in the chair and buried her head in her hands.

One thing was for sure.

She needed to go away.

_Far _away.

* * *

Tony and Ziva were now the only ones in the squad room, for Gibbs left at about 1630h, and McGee left soon after. They both kept their heads down, working on paperwork that never seemed to end.

Deciding that he couldn't sit there anymore, Tony stood from his chair and walked over to Ziva's desk, taking the bag of dinner that McGee got for them before he left.

Ziva looked up at him for the first time in several hours. He took the top off of the plastic container and stabbed his fork into one of the pieces of meat. She took this opportunity to look around, and noticed that not only the squad room was empty, but the whole _building_ was empty. She turned her attention back to Tony and watched as he made a face as he swallowed. She stood from her desk and walked over to him, leaning on his desk, her arms and legs crossed. "That needs to be heated up, yes?"

Tony stabbed another piece of meat and shoved it in his mouth, "It's fine."

Ziva sighed and spoke again, but this time, she was looking at the ground, "Are we?" Tony only played in his food with his fork, and Ziva honestly didn't expect him to answer. She stood up straight and moved his chair backwards, standing in the space between him and the desk as she took the container from him, placing it on his desk behind her. She cupped his face with both hands and looked him directly in the eyes, "I am sorry, Tony. I know that it is not your fault."

Tony swallowed the food that was in his mouth and smiled as he put his hands on Ziva's hips, pulling her into his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he planted a kiss on her lips, and it quickly turned passionate. Once they broke for air, Tony leaned his forehead on hers, "I'm sorry too, for you know...walking away."

Ziva put one finger on his lips, silencing him, "There is no need for you to be sorry."

Tony half-smiled and leaned up, pressing another kiss on her soft lips. Ziva was the one who broke the kiss, standing from his lap. Tony pouted, "Where are you going?"

"I need to shower." She said softly.

"But I wasn't done!"

Ziva chuckled as she walked passed him, fresh clothes in her hand. Tony sighed, picked up the container of food and moved food around with his fork. Then he remembered, Ziva _owed_ him. He stood up and practically ran to the back elevator, earning funny looks from the cleaning crew. He walked into the shower room and was greeted by hot moisture that was already in the air from the steam of Ziva's shower. He stripped his clothes quickly, ignoring his thought that he didn't have any new ones to put on. Pulling the curtain open, he stepped in with Ziva, who was, at that point, washing soap off of her body. She smiled as he stepped in the water, pulling her body close to his, "What are you doing?" She asked, her voice soft and seductive.

"You owe me, Ziva David." He said softly, and moved in to kiss her, slowly pushing her against the cold tiles.

Ziva ran her hands down his chest, and took a breath, biting her bottom lip, "I love how you do not like to leave things unfinished." Tony chuckled as he leaned down again, firmly pressing his lips to hers.

Smiling, Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo realized something.

They wouldn't be interrupted.

* * *

After several "you owe me" sessions in the showers, Tony and Ziva walked back to the squad room, Tony stopping at the broom closet to retrieve their bed. Ziva watched him and smiled, speaking seductively, "Tired, Tony?"

Tony chuckled, "Ziva, I could go on all night." He replied, placing the mattress on the floor in it's usual spot. He grabbed Ziva and pulled her close, "But I don't want to wear you out _to_ much." He bit his bottom lip, "You need your strength."

Ziva placed both hands on his chest, just as he was about to kiss her again, "Tony, we need to talk."

Tony groaned and placed his forehead on hers. She was right, they did need to talk, but he _really_ didn't want to.

He would rather...do...other things.

That were..._fun_.

Fun like Disney Land.

Talking wasn't Disney Land.

At least, not the kind of talk they needed to talk.

He realized, during all this thinking that he was doing, he was staring at her, "Yeah, I know." Locking his hands behind her back, he kissed her forehead, "Let's talk."

"What are we going to do, Tony?" She had her arms around his neck, playing with the base of his hair and looking into his green eyes, "We cannot leave the building."

"I know, Zi. It's insane." Tony replied, "And your father did _not_ help."

"He only made matters worse." Ziva agreed, but then sighed, "I am sure he is gone long."

Tony furrowed his eyebrows together, "You mean long gone?"

Ziva rolled her eyes, "He is in Israel."

"So you _did_ mean long gone."

"What are we going to do?" She repeated. Tony sighed, let her go, and ran a hand through his hair as he leaned on his desk, crossing his legs.

"We could leave." He said softly.

Ziva looked up at him again, and felt her mouth fall open at the suggestion.

"What?" She asked, but was interrupted when a man at the entrance of the squad room cleared his throat. Tony studied him carefully. He had a NCIS visitor's badge on, which was funny, because it was currently 2048h, and nobody was at the desk that _issued_ visitor's badges.

The building was under lock and key after 1700h.

And another thing that didn't go unnoticed was the fact that this strange man had his eyes locked on Ziva. Tony stood up and walked over to the man, stepping in front of Ziva.

"Can I help you?"

He reached in his back pocket and pulled out his wallet, flipping his badge, "I'm Detective Sean Ellis."

"Ellis?" Tony _knew_ he looked familiar,"Are you related to Paul Ellis?"

"That's my father."

Tony chuckled, "Played college ball with him. He's a good guy." His guard was down a little more now, for he and Paul were actually good friends in college. Tony then made a mental note to call him.

Sean now had his eyes locked on Ziva again, trying his best to look around the federal agent, "Yeah, he mentioned that he knew you, Tony DiNozzo."

Tony wasn't entirely shocked that Sean Ellis knew his name. The whole _world_ knew his name. Tony walked closer to him and put a hand on his shoulder, squeezing tightly, "Now what can I do for you?"

"I'm here to see that goddess right there." Sean replied, and stepped around Tony, so that he was within reach of Ziva. Sean had his hands in his pockets as he spoke, "You haven't replied to the many dozens of roses and letters and boxes of chocolates that I've sent, so I wanted to see you."

"How did you get in here?" Ziva asked.

"I have connections." Sean said, and took another step closer to Ziva, and now, his right hand was out of his pocket. He dragged his fingers across Ziva's bare skin, on her shoulder, for she was wearing a tank top, "I'm your number one fan."

Tony stepped up and grabbed his wrist, "That's enough. You don't touch her. Get out of here before I call security."

"And what are y_ou _gonna do if I don't?"

"I'll kill you." Tony said through his teeth.

"Tony." Ziva warned. Tony glanced at his girlfriend and she shook her head, so Tony dropped Sean's wrist that now had finger marks around it.

"Get out of here."

"I'll leave when I'm ready to leave." He put his hand on Ziva's neck under her hair, "And I'm not leaving until I feel the rest of her body."

Tony heard enough and he grabbed Sean's arm and twisted it around his back, pushing him out of the squad room and towards the window. "Ziva, call security." Tony said and Ziva obeyed, walking around her desk and to her phone.

"What in the hell?"

"You touched my girlfriend." Tony mumbled. Sean started to walk away when Tony dropped him onto the ground, "You're not going anywhere." Tony said through his teeth.

Sean laughed, "I see." He said, just as security arrived and put handcuffs on him, "So if I mess with Mossad Liaison Officer Ziva David, I mess with Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo."

"Let's go." One of the security guards said, and as they walked away, Sean spoke again.

"I'll keep that in mind."

Tony didn't take his stare off of Sean Ellis until he couldn't see him anymore. He then walked over to Ziva, putting both hands on her forearms, "You're not leaving my sight." He said.

Ziva rolled her eyes, "I can take care of myself."

Tony sighed, let her go again and walked around his desk, retrieving fresh clothes, for he was wearing the ones he had before the shower. "I know Zi." As he left the squad room, he turned and looked at her, speaking softly, "But we need to get out of here."

Ziva nodded as she watched Tony step into the Men's restroom.

He was right.


End file.
